Painting Garage Floors 101

What Is Garage Floor Paint?

As with any paint, garage floor paint comes in various forms, from epoxy formulations to solvent-based paints. These are all specially designed for use on floors of varying levels of traffic, with garage floor coatings designed to withstand heavy vehicles, while floor paints are often designed for a more aesthetic centred performance.

Why Paint Your Garage Floors?

There are a whole host of reasons why you would paint your garage floors, that include:

• Adding a beautiful, clean finish to a garage that has the ability to turn it into a room, rather than an added outbuilding
• Hiding any imperfections
• Provides a clean coating that is easier to clean than bare concrete
• Can often help to waterproof a floor from water ingress, as bare concrete is highly porous
• It provides an opportunity to add some personality to the space

Painting floors is a great way to update any space and can make all the difference if you are planning to convert your garage.

What Is The Best Paint For Garage Floors?

Finding the best paint for a project can be difficult. There are a seemingly endless number of paints that all claim to do the same thing. However, there are significant differences between paints if you know what to look for.

There are a number of options when it comes to choosing a garage floor paint, with the best paint for you depending on what specific needs you have.

Here are our experts picks for the best paints for garage floors:

1. Rust-Oleum 5300 Epoxyshield Maxx 2 Pack Floor Paint

If you are looking for an ultimate performance garage floor paint then look no further than 5300 Epoxyshield Maxx from Rust-Oleum, which is a user friendly and easy to apply water-based floor coating. The epoxy formulation is applied in just one-coat, does not require a primer and will withstand heavy traffic, which is highly valuable in a floor paint.

One big issue with garage floor paints is that car tyres when they get hot can lift paint off the floor. This is why 5300 Epoxyshield Maxx has been designed to have the best possible car tyre resistance, which is why it is highly durable in high traffic areas.

The final thing to note about 5300 Epoxyshield Maxx is that it comes with a gloss finish, which is the most reflective paint finish available. This gives it a highly modern shiny finish which is very desirable for garage floors.

The key disadvantages of this particular garage floor paint is that it is more expensive than alternatives and is not available in a wide range of colours, only RAL 7001, RAL 7035 & English Red. This does limit your ability to transform your garage exactly how you would like it, however ultimately for the best performing garage floor paint we would recommend you opt for 5300 Epoxyshield Maxx.

2. Dulux Trade Floorshield

Sometimes when transforming an interior room, choosing the colour is the most important part of the process.

Floorshield from Dulux Trade can be mixed in any RAL or Dulux colour, which makes it the perfect floor paint if you are looking to get creative. While it is hard-wearing, it is only suitable for light to medium traffic areas, which means if you use your garage to park your car then this isn't the paint for you.

Having said this, Floorshield is capable of standing up to scuffing and mild chemical spillage, giving you a long-lasting performance. It is a mid-sheen finish, which if you are not looking for a glossy floor paint makes it ideal for you when compared to the other paints in our list. Ultimately, this is the perfect paint for you if you are looking for an attractive finish for a living space such as a man cave.

3. Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield Garage Floor Kit

For an easy to use, DIY friendly garage floor paint, Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield Garage Floor Kit is a fantastic option.

It is a two-part epoxy formulation that has superb durability and adhesion to garage floors, allowing it to withstand wear, impact and abrasion resistance like heavy foot or vehicle traffic.

The downside of this garage floor kit is that it comes in one finish and style, with a grey shade that comes with decorative chips. If this is not the look you want to desire, this product isn't for you. Having said this, if you are not looking for a particular look, this is the easiest way to achieve a durability garage floor coating yourself.

How To Paint A Garage Floor

If you’ve decided you want to transform your garage floor, this is how to go about it.

What You Will Need

• Your garage floor paint of choice
• Floor degreaser
• A paint roller & extension pole
• A paint brush
• A paint tray or kettle
• A stiff brush
• A good quality masking tape

1. Clean

Dirt and grime is extremely easily collected by concrete floors, which is one of the reasons why painting it is a good idea. Using a floor degreaser, scrub any grease, oil and other contaminations from the floor using a brush and leave for an hour. Clean off with water and leave to dry ready to paint.

2. Prep

If the surface has any cracks, this is the time to repair them using an appropriate filler. If any imperfections are left, they are likely to be highlighted by the glossy finish that many garage floor paints come with, so this is a crucially important step.

Apply masking tape around any areas you do not want to paint to avoid an untidy finish. Ensuring that the tape you use is high quality will help achieve the best possible finish, as cheap masking tape can allow paint to bleed through.

3. Prime

If it is a bare surface, depending on the floor paint you are using, it may require a primer. These are usually one-coat and can be easily applied using a brush or roller. If they surface you are painting is already pre-painted, then you will most likely not need to use a primer.

4. Paint

Starting at the edges apply the first coat with using a paint brush. Once you have cut around the edges of the floor, using the roller with an extension pole attached to make the painting as easy as possible, apply the paint to the full area. If you are using a two-coat system, apply this first-coat slightly thinner than the second coat, as this is to provide a solid basis for an overcoat.

You must allow it to dry completely as per the manufacturer's instructions before applying a second-coat; typically this should be a minimum of 12 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much garage floor paint do I need?

A. The amount of paint you will need to undertake the project will completely depend on the size of your garage of the paint you are using. As a rough guide however, the average garage is 3m wide and 6m long. This means that an area of 18 sqm metres will be painted, with two coat required - thus 36 sqm will need to be painted. If a paint has a coverage of 10m2 per litre, you will require roughly 4L of paint. Remember, if you are using a paint that only requires one coat that you will factor this in to the equation.

Q. Can you use floor paint on wood?

A. Often we are asked whether floor paints can be used on wooden floorboards, to which the answer is it depends which paint.

Q. Can you paint a garage floor without etching?

A. This is a subject that causes a fair bit of confusion when it comes to garage floor painting. Acid etching involves applying acid to a power floated concrete floor in order to create a rough surface for a coating to adhere to. This is a very old school technique, as is just simply not necessarily with today's technology. The problem with etching is that, if left on for too long it will crumble the surface, if left not long enough then nothing happens. Furthermore, it requires the use of hazardous materials which is not something many homeowners want to do if they do not have to. An adhesion primers such as Rust-Oleum 3333 Super Adhesion Primer will allow any floor coating to adhere to power floated concrete. Otherwise, with any porous concrete or pre-painted surface, this is not necessary.

We hope this has answered any questions you may have had regarding how to paint your garage floor and what the best paint to use is. If you require anymore help, do not hesitate to send an email to our team of experts - hello@paintersworld.co.uk. At Painters World we have a wide range of floor paint & decorating supplies available, so no matter the job, we've got the right decorating tools for you. Get FREE next working day delivery on all orders when you spend over £50!