by Dave Logan
1. Ventilate. Painting your garage floor requires paints, epoxy, and cleaners that most certainly produce toxic fumes. Make sure your garage work area is very well ventilated and you won’t have any problems. Wearing protective eyewear, gloves, and covering exposed skin is always a smart idea for projects like this.
2. Clean the concrete floor. It’s important to sweep and take a shop vac to your garage floor before you being priming and painting. You need to make sure all debris is gone in order to achieve a smooth, effective result. Before you begin painting, sweep and clean the floor thoroughly. Use a concrete cleaner to rid the flooring of old stains. After you spray on the cleaner, wait a few minutes and scrub the spots with a hard brush. When you’re done, rinse the entire floor from back to front using a hose (or better yet, a pressure washer).
3. Repair the cracks. Now that your floor is clean, use a concrete-repair compound to patch cracks in the floor’s surface. Your garage floor will need to be totally dry before applying any sort of compound.
4. Prime the surface. Priming is the critical element before painting. It’s the only way to be sure your paint job will last for years to come. Grab a long-handlesd paint roller and slap on a heavy coat of primer. You will need to wait 8-10 hours for the primer to dry before you apply the first coat of paint.
5. Paint the surface. There are many types of quality paints on the market today that will more than suffice for your garage floor. Follow the application instructions available with whatever paint you choose. The first coat should be applied thinly and evenly. Wait at least 24 hours and apply a second coat. Two coats is all you need. Wait about 3-5 days before driving or parking on the newly painted surface. Finally, you will want to keep an eye on the surface and perform annual touch-ups to keep your garage floor protected and looking good!
For more helpful information on these and other home improvement projects, check in often with the TDL Blog. And don’t forget to visit TeamDaveLogan.com to find a trusted home improvement professional in Denver and Boulder that will help you with your next project!
