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Garage floor painting

by Steven Sheeley
(Lynnwood, WA, USA)

Round about July last year I decided to do some garage floor painting. I chose a flat battleship gray (Ex-Sailor here) expoy paint and got down to prepping the floor.

I did the plastic bag test (a plastic bag that’s been duct taped to the garage floor for 24 hours. If it’s dry underneath, you can proceed.), passed and proceeded on.

Saturday was spent removing oil spots, cleaning and degreasing the floor, etching it with a mild acid, and scrubbing, vacuuming and rinsing (a lot!). Nothing too bad there, but it was a ton of work I was not expecting but I had been warned... Mess up the prep work and the paint will peel. It took 4 scrubbings with muriatic acid to get the concrete to the "feel of fine sandpaper" as required.

Sunday was spent filling cracks (a few minor ones)and applying the first coat of epoxy. Again, the devils in the details. Use the proper safety equipment, depending on what type of paint you are using and make sure you're wearing expendable clothing and shoes! I was wearing an old shirt and pants but thought nothing of wearing my normal shoes, only to have to toss them out because I got paint on them.

Monday evening after work was the second coat. I'd added a "non-skid" additive to the second coat to give traction or make it less slippery.

I waited till August to even start to park my car in the garage and everything was near perfect. The only troubles that I had was a few dime to quarter size holes where the car tires pulled up the paint the first time. Repainting and curing fixed those and I'm the proud owner of a beautiful, easy to clear garage floor.