Painting a garage floor is not a difficult job, but it’s really important that the right preparation is carried out and that the correct paint is used. This article provides advice for painting a bare concrete floor.

PREPARATION

If the floor is old (but unpainted) then it is very likely that there are traces of motor oil or brake fluid on the floor that may or may not be visible. It’s really important that these areas are removed prior to painting. If the floor is bare concrete then you will need to buy an industrial degreaser that you then dilute with hot water. You must mix up the solution and scrub it into the concrete with a stiff brush before washing away with clean water – you could either use a pressure washer or buckets of water and a broom. Bare concrete is particularly porous so you may want to wet the concrete prior to applying the solution as this way you will use less of it. After washing the degreaser off make sure that you leave the concrete to dry out thoroughly and this could take several days depending on the air temperature. Once dry, remove all dust from the floor using a broom or vacuum cleaner.

PAINTING:

While driving, the tyres of your car become hot. When left parked in a garage, the tyres cool and contract, and if the correct paint is not used, this can cause the paint to peel off. While there are various single pack tins of paint designed for garage floors, the best paint to use is a two-part epoxy paint. There are various brands available, but the one that I have used successfully in the past is called EW99 and it is made by Bradite.. It’s not cheap, but it is fairly easy to use, does not smell and can be tinted to any standard RAL colour..
An important point to note is that this paint is designed to be applied to bare surfaces, so do not apply a coat of stabilising solution to the concrete before painting. Instead thin the first coat of Bradite with 10-20% water so that is soaks in correctly. When mixing the Part A with Part B you may find it useful to but some measuring jugs so that you can get the correct ratio. Be careful not to mix up more than you will need as once mixed, the paint will go off and you will not be able to use it again. For bare surfaces, Bradite recommend one sealer coat and then two subsequent coats. You should wait 14 hours between coats.

AFTER PAINTING
After painting, the paint will need to be left for an adequate amount of time to cure before you can park your car in the garage. Bradite recommend that you wait 6 days.
Using an epoxy paint is slightly more work than using a standard tin of paint, but the coating will last for longer meaning you’ll have to re-pint the floor less in the future.




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