Garage floor; paint, epoxy or ??

[jdando]

Thinking about upgrading my garage floor. How durable are some of the coatings you can get at the local home center place? The garage is your basic double garage, 18 years old.

I am assuming grind concrete, acid wash, fill cracks, cover with goo.


Any recommendations or horror stories?

jeremy

[KillJoy]

They make that special Garage Floor Coating w/ the rubber flakes.

I would use that over any plain old paint.

You could use those way cool plastic squares that snap together. That would be cool :D

KillJoy

[DEFYANT]

I like the epoxy paint w/o the flakes. Tile would be nice, but my garage is not a show room. An tiles are not durable.

The snap together kit Kiljoy is talkin about is cool, but real expansive.

Check out www.garagejournal.com

[KillJoy]

I like the epoxy paint w/o the flakes.


Wouldn't it get kind of slick if / when wet???

KillJoy

[DEFYANT]

Wouldn't it get kind of slick if / when wet???

KillJoy

Oh yeah, I heard that too. Some guys toss in some sand to give the floor texture. Probably harder to clean it then...

[magindat]

You could use VCT or viny composite tile. It works well, is durable, sandable, and is maintained by waxing. Anything that gets on it can be removed with stripper and the floor re-waxed.

[Grifter]

Jeremy, go to The Complete Garage store in Hopkins. Hwy 7 and Hopkins Crossroad, right behind the Starbucks and MGM Liquor. They have it all.
I have looked at the snap tiles (They sell them BTW) they look plenty durable. What is the huge drawback for me is that when I work in the garage, I make a mess! If I spill any fluids, it goes right under those tiles and then i would have to pull them up to clean it..

[RCSignals]

Benjamin Moore Industrial line has a very good one part epoxy for concrete.

[CrazyCor15]

I just saw a commercial on TV for a floor surface for your garage, but I forgot what it was called. It comes in a gloss or non-gloss. It looked very nice.

[Leadfoot281]

Epoxy is the only way to go. I have a friend that does it and I've seen the work he does. It's available in any color or texture you want. He works the whole state.

I can get you his number if interested.

[rvaldez1]

Wouldn't it get kind of slick if / when wet???

KillJoy
Well if you use floor paint, not really. I have to agree, epoxy paint is the way to go. Rust-oleum etc. make epoxy paint kits that come with the flakes.

[Mike Poore]

We used a two part EPOXY paint in 1968 when we built our home. Most of the color is gone in the garage area where the terrible things happen, but the concrete is still sealed, and I doubt any other product would have held up as well. The areas in the remaining basement where we haven't spilled every imaginable solvent known to mankind on it, the color remains; but the concrete is no better sealed than where the color is gone. OH, the surface is not slipery, never was. :)

[rumble]

Epoxy is the only way to go. I have a friend that does it and I've seen the work he does. It's available in any color or texture you want. He works the whole state.

I can get you his number if interested.

Yes, epoxy is the best way. My son used the black and white snap together
tiles and it looked great. The problem was they don’t lay exactly flat on the
floor and “pop” when you walk on them. Also, since he drives Corvettes,
they had traditional Chevy oil leak spots on them that were also problematic.

He ended up taking up the tiles and having epoxy put down. It is so glossy
you can easily see the cars reflection in the floor.

[Todd]

I did epoxy and it is the best garage thing I have ever done.

I had someone do it because the prep work is the most important. If you get that wrong it will not be much better than paint.

I had actually ordered floor expoxy from griotsgarage.com but ended up giving it to a friend of mine when I paid the company to do it.

Got for the epoxy but do not skimp on the prep of the floor.

[sailsmen]

Rustoleum 2 part from home Depot.

Installed in Nov, works excellent. Far superior to the 1 part I used in '98.