Concrete Wall Finish

[alberto]

I have an industrial unit where the north and south facing walls are concrete, painted on the outside and bare on the inside. I want the inside walls to retain their "natural" look. However, I'm a bit concerned that they may start dusting or attract dust if I leave the bare.

What, if anything, can apply to them to keep them from dusting, keep them relatively clean, and which will retain the naked concrete look as much as possible?

 

[boobag]

gray paint

 

[bushmechanic]

There are some very cool stains out there, and you can clear over them.

One thing I never liked was painted concrete. Get creative.

 

[boobag]

the concrete wont dust, so you can leave it as is. however it will get dirty easy if its touched a lot.

 

[mnavillus]

Do you have any Pics? what part of the country? Is this application strictly for cosmetics or does the product need to offer some type of chemical resistance?

 

[James-W]

I was on a television service call one time and the television set was in the basement. The basement was cement block and apparently they had put some sort of plaster or some type of white material on one of the walls. Then they had painted all sorts of cartoon characters on the wall, like Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, that type of thing. It looked very cool and I was impressed. They had kids so I suspect it was done for them, but I liked it too.

Anyway, maybe something similar to that would work for you. I don't mean paint cartoon characters on the walls, but maybe you could have an outdoor scene of some sort. Maybe a deer walking across an open field, or a beer going into a woods, something of that nature. It's just a thought and you may not like the idea. I figured it might be worth mentioning in case you wanted to do something different with at least one wall.

 

[dfiler2]

Ah yes one of my favorite outdoor scenes, "a beer going into the woods".

I would think a clear concrete sealer would work well for you.

http://www.tricoat.com/water-based-sealers.html

 

[Shea]

What, if anything, can apply to them to keep them from dusting, keep them relatively clean, and which will retain the naked concrete look as much as possible?

A lithium based concrete densifier will work for what you want to accomplish. They are sometimes used for basement walls. You could also use a penetrating silane and siloxane based sealer that acts as a water repellent as well.

 

[alberto]

Do you have any Pics? what part of the country? Is this application strictly for cosmetics or does the product need to offer some type of chemical resistance?

No pics handy. I'm in San Diego. Strictly cosmetics.

gray paint

Don't want to paint it, I actually want the natural concrete look, but thanks for the suggestion.

A lithium based concrete densifier will work for what you want to accomplish. They are sometimes used for basement walls. You could also use a penetrating silane and siloxane based sealer that acts as a water repellent as well.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will give you a call to discuss the pro's and con's of each, although I think it would be instructive if you posted them here for others to learn about it.