Hello,
I'm about to build a double wide garage that will be heated. What I plan on doing to the floor is painting it in a checkerboard pattern (black and white) and parking a collector vehicle on it. I am looking for anyone that has done this sort of thing. I am looking for a very high gloss , shiney finish.. I'm wondering if I should use an epoxy cement paint to start, then use any durable paint to go over it? Thanks in advance from help from someone that has experienced doing this. Jim
I think I might try some of the rubber tile like products.
In any case if you want to paint it I suggest three things:
Using cheap materials or materials not specifically intended for a garage is a waste of time and will make any correction to the mess they will make very difficult.
Did I mention the prep work. No skimping here. If it says don't use it on a new surface for 6 months, don't cheat by trying it in five months, if it says rinse it three time, rinse it four.
Never use paint on a garage floor. Doesn't matter what they call it, it will lift off the first time you drive warm tires on it.
Go to a real paint store - not a consumer storefront or one of the big box stores and get a two part epoxy industrial coating. I've used Benjamin Moore, but there are others as good. Comes in a half dozen premix colors and they may be able to tint to a custom color.
I can't recall the last one I used, but it may have been the CM36/CM37:
Check with your local floor covering company. They used to make sheet vinyl with black and white checkerboard. I saw this once at a car dealership and it looked real nice. Depending on how you do things you could also roll this up if you wanted to do some major work like changing out an engine or something.
Another option would be commercial tile, the 1 foot squares. To get a true black and white you would need the solid vinyl but that is awfully soft if you could stand the almost black and almost white, the vinyl comp tiles are cheap and easy to maintain with a little wax and a buffing.
As Mr. Meehan mentioned the rubber is an option, but a very pricey option.
The paint IMO would be a pain. Too much masking and to easy to get a lousy looking job.
I live in SW Florida and many of the garage floors here are painted, including mine. Mine was painted 5 years ago and has held up nicely. It could well be that some of the naysayers (about painting the floor) live where it does not work well or the material was cheap or the preparation was inadequate or the temperature was wrong or .....
A good quality paint (Sherwin Williams, e.g.) is strongly recommended ... and you must follow the instructions! Preparation and temperature are very, very important. Also, a damp floor will do you in every time.
Epoxy is OK, but I have yet to see what the big deal is, as compared to high-quality enamel.
If you are doing this from scratch, check with your concrete man. They can finish concrete to a very very very shiny finish, and they can also add colorant or make it a lot of colors and veins so that smudges, spills, and booboos are not as noticeable. I have seen some shiny floors in big stores, and yes, it comes from a sealer that is applied, but that concrete is very very very smooth from the get go.
Steve
I don't think you'll get any regular paint to stick over the epoxy.
Certainly not until the gloss is off from wear or being sanded. But it isn't necessary - epoxy is available in most colors.
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