Best way to prep and paint and exterior cement stairwell?

[stratford1]

Hey folks, I have an exterior stairwell on my 1940's house that decends to the basement. Its all cement stairs with a small cement landing at the bottom with a drain, then boxed in with cement blocks. It needs a paint job bad. My question is 2 fold... 1) What's the best kind of paint to put on something like this so the paint will last a long time? (Also are there options out there that might be somewhat washable?) 2) What's the best way to prep this stairwell so that the paint sticks? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[aemeijers]

IMHO, paint in that application is nothing but an upkeep nightmare. Always damp, one side usually shaded (or both, if you have one of those lid things.) I'd strip the old paint with a pressure washer, or have somebody media-blast it, patch the concrete as needed, and possibly apply a sealer.

But then again, I the look of honest bare concrete, so YMMV.

aem sends...

[Joe]

Sears has a water based epoxy floor paint kit that comes with a cleaner as well. Some of the kits have sand packets in the hardener, avoid those unless you think the traction might be helpful. IMO it just shortens the service life of the paint. Solvent based epoxies would work OK. but acid etching the concrete is sometimes recommended. The epoxy paints ought to be washable and fairly durable. All of this is a lot of work, so think it over before you commit to it. HTH

Joe

[stratford1]

Thanks for the recommendation. I've seen some of these kits, but havent ever looked very closely at them. The ones I've seen are usually described as for basements or garage floors...Do you think they might stand up to outdoor elements?