Cheap floor paint...

[Wow]

So it's time...I finally located some cheap Behr concrete paint, I just want to brighten my floor up a little, I don't need to make a masterpeice.

First thing is, how would you clean the floor prior to painting? I tried some Behr heavy duty concrete cleaner, and it didn't do a damn thing. My shop used to be a body shop, as such the floor is oversprayed in many different colors. Should I try and strip that off first, or can I paint over it?

Secondly, how should I apply it? Roller? How many coats? Anybody know how many sq ft a gallon should cover?

 

[JD in DFW]

The word that jumped out at me in your post was "cheap". I did a guys garage this week that used the Behr concrete paint on his new floor. He put the primer down then the paint and it did not last 2 weeks before it was peeling up, it even came up when just walked on in some places. If I were you I would spend just alittle more money and get a mid level epoxy or other coating material that will last alittle longer. It's all in the prep so unless you prep the floor throughly and correctly what ever you put down could have issues with failure. I have always been of the opinion that paint was for the walls and ceiling....not the floor.
Good luck with whatever you end up rolling with. Oh and use a squeegee and roller and it you have a buddy to help with back rolling that would be helpful as well.

 

[m289271]

If the price is right, and you'e OK with it not being a permanent floor coating, it will be fine. It will wear off over time, but I'm sure it will be an improvement over what you have. Wash it good with muriatic acid and have at it. I used it at my Dad's house about 5 years ago and he's still got about 80% left.

 

[tcianci]

I you do decide to use the paint and the old paint stains are well adhered to the floor, you probably need to wash the floor with a good detergent and then have at it. Muriatic acid will etch the floor and give you a better "tooth" for what ever your top coat will be but it will have little effect on the paint, but you will still probably be OK. Like previously mentioned, it's not a permanent coating but it can be cleaned and touched up for next to nothing. One of the biggest issues with paint on a garage floor is "hot tire pickup" This is a condition where the heat and the chemicals in the rubber compound of the tire can re-activate the paint and cause it to track up onto the tire tread and off of the floor.
Good floor enamel does provide a decent, easily repairable surface for the low demand applications though.
Be aware that if you someday decide to apply an epoxy finish, you will need to remove all of the existing coating which raises the question of whether or not you want to just remove the paint that is making the floor look bad now and epoxy the whole thing or remove all the paint from the whole floor later to epoxy coat it.
Not that I would recommend it to anyone, but I washed and etched my garage floor prior to applying an epoxy finish and the floor had seen many years of grease, paint, and other unknown **** before I decided to epoxy it. No grinding, no exotic surface prep. The epoxy has been there 10 years now and has held up amazingly well... I have chipped it, scratched it and otherwise beat the snot out of it but there have never been issues of lifting, cracking or peeling. I am going to chalk it up to being lucky. Your best bet is to follow any manufacturers recs as closely a possible, especially if you expect them to honor a warranty.