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Painting a converted warehouse floor

1K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  Broughton 
#1 ·
Hi -

I converted an old warehouse into an art gallery and the only thing that I'm still stuck on is how to properly treat/finish the floors.

The floors are a mixture of concrete and terazzo tiles, that have been patched up with concrete over the years. The entire floor has previously been painted over. I would like to paint the floor BLACK to compliment the gallery's "look & feel".

My questions are:
1. Considering that I properly clean the floor, do I need to still apply a primer?
2. What kind of BLACK material or paint can I use for this floor for it to stand up to gallery traffic?
3. Can I paint with regular black paint and then put on several coats of polyurethane?

Thanks for the help!
 
#3 ·
hi copper, I don't think paint is the way to go, heels with take it right off. I just did a bridal boutique in Austin that wanted black floors and what we did was a black concrete overlay. The we acid washed it with black and stained it again. After putting a water based sealer and waxing it the floor was jet black and extremely durable. I highly recommend it. It will also even out the differences in flooring types you described.
 
#5 ·
Yes, an overlay is a thin, around 3/8", coat of self-leveling compound or cement. I was just in sherwin Williams picking up some paint and my rep referred me to the following link.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/staining/concrete_stain/garage/

Before painting, or if you can find a black epoxy coat, then instead of painting, apply an epoxy coat as seen in the link. It won't level out rough spots but it will get you a black, durable floor.


A concrete overlay is probably more than you want to try and do yourself. In Austin is would run you between $5.50 and $7 per square foot installed.

The epoxy looks like a less expensive and DIY option. If you have a sherwin Williams store near you go and talk to them. They will get you the right product.
 
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