Planning my floor

[Tbonedog]

I’m hoping to fix up my floor sometime in the next few months. I’ve been reading a bunch here and on Pinterest, so I know there is a lot out there to choose from. Here are my issues; I love the look of tiles like Racedeck and their simplicity, but I’m hoping to get back to my welding projects soon and I don’t think they would hold up. I’ve tried paint before at another house and it looked ok, but wasn’t durable. I’m also concerned about using paint or epoxy due to the stains on the floor. I’m worried about not getting the prep right and having adhesive problems. I love the idea and look of a stain, but I’m not sure it would look ok with all of the stains I have from who knows what (was like this when we moved in). Here are some pics. I’m just looking for options considering where I am starting from. I also have an area with bad old paint. I’m assuming I can sand it off with a DA. Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it.

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[CJseven]

That looks like a good candidate for a complete grinding then coat. Not to many coating will handle welding spatter or sparks though.

 

[Slowgsr]

I ground my floor and used rustoleum solvent epoxy. 1 good coat, fleck, then a good coat of the solvent clear with antskid.

Its extremely durable, brake fluid, brake clean, thinners, solvents,I weld, cut etc. Floor cleans up nicely. Zero lifting issues.

In the future if I wanted to make it look like new quick scuff and a coat of clear and I bet it would look like new.
For the price I don't think you could beat it.

 

[Shea]

Whether you stain or do a coating system, you will still need to grind the entire floor. Grinding will remove the paint, most of the stains in your pics, and will properly prep the concrete for a good coating.

If you stain, it will need to be a water-based stain since the grinding will remove a lot of the free lime that acid stains react with. Based on the type of work you plan to do in your garage, you will want to use a good clear coat such as a single-part polyurea. This type of clear coat will stand up much better to that than an acrylic clear coat. Epoxy clears are fairly tough as well, but they will amber if exposed to U.V. light, they are not as abrasion resistant, and they are not as water clear.