I am going to paint the garage next week, as the walls and floor are giving off lots of dust as the house is a new build and the cars getting covered! painting the walls should be ok, but whats the best thing to do for the floor? any reccomendations for the paint and where to get it from? cheers Karl.
I copied PAB and used a 50/50 PVA and water mix to prime the floor, to cut down the concrete dust and help the paint stick. I bought cheap paint from ebay in a 5 gallon drum, which doesn't seem very tough - bit soft really - and was probably a false economy. All the big DIY stores and most motor factors will sell you floor paint, and it's not cheap.
I'm not sure if this stuff would work any better... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10KGS-GARAGE-...lies_Paint&hash=item3eff2e09df#ht_2368wt_1167 This is the stuff I bought... super cheap, but I'm not sure it's going to last very well. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MID-Grey-Gara...t_Varnish_MJ&hash=item4a9f442b36#ht_652wt_941
I agree with Mike, prime the floor first, after a good clean, and Hoover, it gets most of the crap up. One bit of advice, pay a bit more, and get an anti-slip one. Plus don't do what I did, and think the floor was dry enough, put the car back in, next time I took it out, four nice contact patches where the paint had stuck to the tyres
You can make your own anti slip, just throw some sand down as you paint it! I know it sounds stupid but i have seen people who have done it and it actually works quite well!
I did mine in epoxy 2 part stuff off ebay, heard bad stories about the water based paints and epxoy is what they use in industrial units, warehouses and workshops etc. Been down a month now and well pleased
would it be worth using the 50/50 pva water mix on the walls too before I paint them? and I will look at getting some of the epoxy stuff, as I know it will take me longer but will be worth it edit - also found searching under a different heading on ebay the epoxy stuff is even cheaper - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120559180331
anyone else thinking of doing this get down to Wickes, they have 10L of maisonry paint on offer at the mo, down to 16 I have done all the walls on the garage inc up into the eves with 2 good coats (breeze blocks a bugger! very thick coats needed to fill the air holes) on used about 12-13L of paint. I have now started on the floor and so far today have done the edges ready for the main bit of the floor tomorrow
Yeah white walls then do the floor... Hoover any dust then use a PVA / Water solution to seal it, especially if fairly fresh concrete. Paint - I used some Huricane grey stuff from local place - 10 for 2.5 Ltr and that covered my single garage fine with one coat. Lasted really well and I've only just re-painted it after 5 years, didn't really need doing again but looks much cleaner now. Good time of year to do it too...
I've bought a few cans of concrete floor treatment stuff which toughens and dustproofs the floor by chemically reacting with it. I'm under the impression that it may be a better option than PVA but I've not actually tried it yet. I can let you guys know the actual manufacturer of it tomorrow. I've done loads of reading up about painting garage floors and I hear of so many people having trouble with it lifting up onto warm tyres. Perhaps the most useful bits of advice I've read are to use a space heater, and to apply the paint as thinly as you possibly can and apply several really thin coats. That way it'll hopefully dry better all the way through and not trap any moisture.
I had my unit done before we moved in with 2-Pack Epoxy Floor Paint. It was shot blasted first and then then had a couple of coats of that on it. Its hard a nails, I can drive the forklift forks into the floor and accross it and it wont come up! Cost about 5k mind but its not somthing you can save money on. It was going to be done once only so had to last!
Blimey, fair bit of money for epoxy then. Once you're at the point where you're looking at spending more than several hundred quid on special paints or whatever then it's also worth considering porcelain tiles (only porcelain; ceramic aren't up to the job for a garage apparently but porcelain are tough).
its all done and down, and looks pretty mint. I left the floor for 4 days before the car went back in, and rather than have the rubber tyres sat on the floor I cut up a couple of carpet floor mats and put them carpet side down under the tyres to try and stop the tyres sticking to the floor. it seems to be ok at the mo, I have annoyingly scratched the floor in 1 place putting my tool box back in, but if needs be it can all come out again in the middle of summer for another couple of coats
As a professional in the construction industry with some experience I would recommend that the surface is cleaned and wire brushed to loosen and remove any laitance (dusty concrete) and brushed and hoovered and a proper surface hardener applied. This will chemically bond the surface together so when the paint sticks to it, it is unlikely to scratch off or lift PVA is an adhesive and doesnt really fully stabilise the floor if it is going to get lots of use. I would use a proprietary floor paint suited to a garage environment if you can afford it for axle stands and trolley jacks and engine crane wheels will create aggresive point loads that may make ordinary paints fail. Having said that its all about preparation (just like spraying a car) so provided you get a good hard non friable surface a cheaper paint is then easily applied as required. I use and recommend Watco products but have no financial interest or reason for promoting them.
I power washed my garage floor, allowed it to dry and used screwfix own brand,Applied using a sweeping brush in one coat, it been 4 years now its still ok I would not recommend non slip, as its impossible to mop up oil spills and canes clothing if your under the motor
