Painting Garage Floors – What You Need to Know

Are you tired of looking at a garage floor that’s covered in oil stains, dirt or paint streaks and globs? Painting your garage floor will give a much-needed update to the space while making your garage look fresh and organized. Garage floor paint is also easier to clean than typical concrete flooring, is water-resistant and provides protection against mold, mildew and unwanted automotive fluid stains.

Types of Garage Floor Paint

There are two paint options when painting your garage floor — latex acrylic or epoxy. A latex acrylic paint is less expensive than an epoxy coating, but it only lasts about two years and will need frequent retouching or repainting depending on how much use or traffic your garage has. An epoxy paint has better adhesion to concrete and is more resilient than latex acrylic paint, lasting about three to four years. Epoxy paint is also more resistant to mold and mildew, chemicals, gas and oil stains, scuffs and chips.

In addition to purchasing the right paint for a garage floor, it’s also essential to apply a primer. Many homeowners miss this step, but by applying primer first to the concrete garage floor, you’re ensuring better adhesion and endurance. A primer coating also helps eliminate unwanted air bubbles, provides a moisture barrier and keeps the base coat uniform by preventing the paint from sinking into the porous concrete.

How to Paint Your Garage Floor

When painting your garage floor, you’ll want to make sure you’re following these easy steps to avoid mistakes — for example, not properly cleaning and maintaining the concrete, wet or damp paint application or not using enough paint for the project.

• Clean the floor: Over time, your garage floor will collect dirt and grime, and to ensure your paint will adhere correctly and evenly to the floor, clean the surface with a power washer or stiff bristled brush and cleaner.
• Fill cracks: Many garages will have cracks or holes, and these can be easily fixed with a concrete patch. Read any manufacturer instructions to make sure the patch has properly cured before attempting to paint.
• Etch the floor: Etching the floor is a way to open up the concrete to allow paint to penetrate the surface. To determine if your floor needs to be etched, drop some water onto the surface and see if it is absorbed into the floor — if not, then you can use a commercial etcher to treat the floor.
• Apply primer: Now that you’ve prepped and treated the garage floor, you can apply a primer which will allow the paint to better bond with the concrete flooring and improve the durability of the paint.
• Paint your garage floor: Once the primer has been applied, use a brush to paint the perimeter of your garage, then use a roller to evenly cover the surface of the garage floor until it looks like new.

Why You Should Hire a Professional Painter

So why should you consider hiring a professional to paint your garage floor when you could do it yourself over a long weekend? Many homeowners run into problems while trying to paint their own garage floor because the surface wasn’t treated properly or they chose a paint that wasn’t appropriate for the surface temperature, so it didn’t bond correctly. By hiring a professional painter to take care of your garage floor, you guarantee that the project will be completed in less time, the surface was prepared and treated correctly with industrial tools and the professionals have the expertise to apply the best products to withstand heavy garage usage.

Trust the Professionals at Shoreline Painting

If you’re looking for the best way to paint your garage floor, then trust the professional painters at Shoreline Painting. We’re a family-owned and operated company, and we’ve been helping the residents of Fairfield County, CT and Westchester County, NY with their interior and exterior painting needs for over 35 years. We’re proud to be a Fine Paints of Europe Master Certified Painter, and we offer free estimates for all of our painting projects. Schedule an appointment with us today by calling 203-302-1086 or by completing our online contact form.