Replies

1. 
   roc | Nov 28, 2011 12:11am | #1

   I can't say

   what to put on it but I have two things to mention from my experience :

   1.  My concrete shop floor is very smooth.  Shiny in places.  Easy to clean as far as garage floors go.  Saw dust on it makes it dangerously slick and also difficult to get enough traction to use a hand plane.  I wind up putting sand down or use a rubber mat or both.

   2.  At work they painted the floor with paint that has grit in it.  This makes for a safer surface when wet etc.  The down side is it eats mop heads and brooms like crazy.  One can see the things getting shorter from clean up to clean up.  It is almost comical ( unless one is paying for the mop heads and brooms ).

   Maybe the best surface is a pebbled concrete.  I am not sure.

2. 
   RalphBarker | Nov 29, 2011 10:32am | #2

   new concrete

   I'd suggest talking to a "concrete person" about how long it will take for the new floor to fully cure prior to applying any surface coating. Coating it might not make a difference, but it's best to ask an expert first. I'd lean toward an epoxy floor paint with sand mixed in (mixed really well) that is formulated for concrete floors, but (again) I'm not an expert.

3. 
   Ben R | Dec 15, 2011 11:41am | #3

   It is a bit pricey, but I would suggest trying to find a contractor that sprays Polyurea in your area.  It is a pleural component system and dries in about 30 seconds.  Polyurea is the same stuff that truck bedliners are made out of.  Super strong/durable and you can get it in any color

4. 
   TonyCz | Dec 25, 2011 11:38pm | #4

   Sealing concrete.

   Ditto what Roc said.

   As for prepping the floor for the coating, manufactures suggest to acid wash the floor as a prep to help the coating adherer to the concrete. They also seem to think that new concrete should not be sealed for at least one year, as the concrete is still curing. Concrete never is completely cured as it gets harder and harder with each passing day.  I can tell you that the floor must be completely dry, free of any oils or dirt before the coating is applied and you may need to apply two coats to the floor as well.

5. 
   knothole | Dec 30, 2011 04:30pm | #5

    Rust-Olem makes a very good two part floor paint. Just clean the floor and let it dry.  Mik the two part epoxy paint and roll on. Holds up very well.   Slippery when wet!!  But how wet do you get a wood shop floor?

6. 
   Willie | Jan 12, 2012 03:20pm | #6

   Do it right.

   You can do plastic composite engineered tiles, pretty expensive, or you can do an epoxy coating, with a urethane seal on top of the epoxy.

   The epoxies sold at the home centers are inexpensive, lots of fillers and not very durable.

   The preparation is critical. If the floor is not totally dry and the finish is smooth, you have a 70% chance that the epoxy will lift in some areas, at some point or another. Acid washing is a bad practice, recommeded because the suppliers want to sell you epoxy and they don't want to scare you away with what is really necessary.

   A dry floor, diamond ground to aroun 150 grit, epoxy coated and topped with a urethane coat will last for a lifetime. For high traffick the urethane will need maintenance, once in two years, but it is real easy to apply. You can also add a grit to the urethane if you don't want a slippery floor. and while it will eat a mop, it stays clean with a broom.

7. 
   bones | Jan 14, 2012 10:11am | #7

   Time first

   I don't recall you saying how long it it's been down but if its real new let it cure some before you do anythng.   I'd let it set for a couple months at the minimum.  I used the rustoleum expoxy floor covering and it worked great held up and looked so good the garage floor was my main selling point on the house when i sold it.    My current shop is on concrete and I've not bothered with a covering and don't plan on it.  Don't know what it gets me other than looks good.  If you have a huge moisture issue maybe.  I'll have to admit it did look sharp and get a lot of comments.    I'm older now and that don't mean much to me now.