[doin my best]

I have an 8 yr old house. Am going to paint the floors which have no stains, water damage or marks. Do I need to put down the etching compound before painting or not? Also can anyone recomend a good paint for this?

 

[waynech]

I used an epoxy that is made by Rustoleum and sold at Home Depot. It comes with a cleaning solution, hardener, and epoxy paint. It also includes a flake effect that you can use to enhance the look of the floor if you choose. I painted my floor 3 years ago and even with heavy traffic the floor still looks great. Good luck

 

[doin my best]

Thanks waynech

Is that the stuff they recomend for garage floors? If so I like the looks of it. Only problem is cost. My basement is approx 60' X32'. That stuff is a little on the expensive side. :thumbup:

 

[slickshift]

If it's your basement, and has not been coated before, no need for an epoxy
(rated for hot tire pick-up like on a garage floor)
A quality Porch/Floor/Patio paint (usually urethane or epoxy fortified) will do just fine
Etching is not needed, just a real good cleaning

If you have any dampness at all whatsoever, in any season, a quality latex or other water-based coating is preferred (even slight moisture on a basement floor can lift an oil/alkyd-based P/F/P paint pretty quick)

If it's still legal in your area, you may have the option of oil/alkyd

But even if it's legal now, it won't be when it comes time to re-coat, so you may want to do water-based now and reduce your prep when it comes time to re-coat
-if you paint now with oil, and want to repaint 5 years from now with latex, you'll have a lot...a lot... more prep and labor to re-coat
-if you coat now with latex, it's relatively basic prep to re-coat

Benjamin Moore and Rustoleum have good "Porch and Floor" paints
I'm sure Sherwin Williams does too, though I've not tried it

Epoxies, two or one part (like the garage coatings), such as Rustoleum's or Daich's, are more expensive, but will last much, much, longer before needing re-coating...if in fact you ever need to re-coat (I'd be shocked actually)

 

[doin my best]

Thanks slickshift

I think I willl go with the porch paint. The floor is spotless and has never had even a drop of moisture on it. I will give it a good cleaning to remove any dust or debris and go for it.

Thanks for your reply

 

[slickshift]

You're welcome

 

[Determined]

I agree with what slickshift said but here is what I did in 2002. I have a garage 30' x 50' with a concrete floor. I moped the floor as good as I could to remove the dust in an area 30' x 20' (just water and mop) when dry for 24 hrs. I then painted one half with a blue latex line paint (traffic paint) and the other side with a flat white latex primer and when dry I then painted over with the blue.

The side without the primer wore down considerably but the side with the primer started to wear last spring of 2008. I had a lot of foot traffic from parties and riding in and out with the riding mower, in and out with a couple of cars, washing grease with chemicals, moping, dragging heavy items across the floor, etc. I bought the blue line paint at Lowe's. I think it only comes in blue, yellow, and white, and is used exclusively for painting lines on parking lots and driveways and is most durable.

If I remember correctly it cost about 16.00 a gallon at the time but I am sure it is cheaper in 5gal. buckets. I don't know if they sell a base coat which could be tinted to the color you want or not.

Just thought I would tell what I did but I am not actually recomending it for you.