Staining Interior Basement Concrete Walls - DIY Chatroom

techinstructor · 03-15-2009, 04:15 PM

I have a new basement with poured concrete walls. I want to paint or stain the walls to seal them to stop the efflorescence and to lighten up the gray "look" of the walls. The basement will be used for storage and there are no windows. The walls will be waterproofed with Bituthene sheet membrane on the exterior.

I started researching paint/stain for concrete walls, but most of the information and application instructions are for FLOORS and not walls. I have found that most people recommend stain, either acrylic or acid, for longevity in lieu of paint, which will eventually peel off.

Here are my questions:

Since this is NEW concrete which has cured now for about 2 months, do I really need to acid-etch the walls prior to staining them? I've thinking of using the acrylic based stain on the walls.
Here is a picture of the walls.
What will happen if I just brush and vacuum them really well to remove the dust and stain them as they are?
If acid-etching is required, then I have questions concerning the application of the acid etch. All of the instructions for acid etching that I've seen show it being applied to floors and most of them are in outdoor areas. They show spraying the slab with a garden sprayer or sprinkler, then hosing it all off when finished. The whole operation seems to be quite a WET procedure and not one that I really want to do INSIDE my basement. Furthermore, my basement floors have already been sealed with Vocomp-20, an acrylic curing and sealing compound designed to protect the concrete surface.
If I put acid etch on the walls, how in the world would I keep it from getting on the floors?

Does anyone have suggestions for ways to do this on interior walls?
Speaking of the floors, if I should decide that I want to stain or paint it with expoxy-based paint, would I have to remove the Vocomp-20 sealant first? If so, do you have any suggestions as to how?

Thanks in advance for the help.