New concrete, paint or seal?

[sierra919]

I have a new garage and concrete floor that I was going to use a concrete sealer on and then planned to redo it every couple of years as needed. (which I did on my previous garage floor and it worked and looked great) However, when the drywallers finished my walls, the dropped drywall mud and paint all over the place. So if I seal it now, I'm going to see the white stains through the clear sealant. The garage floor will be protected, but won't look as nice as I had hoped.

My question is, will concrete paint last if I went that route to cover the stains? Or will it start peeling over time? What about painting the floor and then applying the same concrete sealer that I was going to use over the paint, will that work to make it last longer? Since the concrete is new, do I still need to etch it? (it's not a glossy finish.) Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jhutch]

I wouldn't paint it! You'll very likely have problems. If the sealer worked in you last home and you were happy, I'd get the drywall mud cleaned up and seal it.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

A floor buffer with an agressive pad will clean that up like magic, as long as it is smooth concrete. If you pre-soak it with a detergent and water, a pressure washer and a scrub brush would probably take off latex. A putty knife and water will take care of drywall mud.

 

[427HISS]

Think about using a tile flooring system from "Swisstrax". You'll never go back to paint.
I get a discount so, send me a PM.

http://www.swisstrax.com/