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Repainting garage floor with epoxy paint

Q. Our garage floor was painted with epoxy paint about nine years ago. It has started to chip and peel in places. Can we repaint the garage floor with epoxy paint and what do we need to do to prepare the floor?

A. You can paint over epoxy, but if the epoxy that's down now is failing, then your best bet is to completely remove it. This can be time consuming. You at least need to get the loose paint up and scuff the rest of it with coarse sand paper. Whether you remove all of it or just in spots is a judgement call on your part. As a contractor, I would be compelled to remove it completely. There are chemical strippers that will soften the epoxy and you can just scrape it off. The easiest and quickest way to remove it is with a diamond floor grinder. Once it's gone, just make sure the floor is thoroughly cleaned. Then wipe it down with mineral spirits and you're ready to paint.