Basement floor paint

[crabo]

I would like to paint the floor in my MIL's basement. I have always liked the Rustoleum product, but am worried about getting the floor clean and dry in the basement.

Anyone have any good experiences, or bad about painting basement floors? It would make sausage making cleanup so much easier.

Thanks,

[Bloodman14]

Go with a GOOD quality oil-based paint. A basement I saw had been painted 10 years earlier and looked new.
Make sure you have a LOT of ventilation!

[theperfessor]

We did our basement some 20+ yrs ago right before we had B-Dry installed. Used a power washer to clean off all dirt, etc. and then used a two part epoxy paint. Has worked great, got about 40% more livable space out of house with B-Dry to keep floor dry and painted floor to make clean up easier.

Don't remember brand of floor paint but remember having to buy it from commercial source, not from hardware/home improvement store.

[felix]

Higher the VOC, the better. Use the two part epoxy kind. Commercial sources only. Home stores sell low VOC stuff that will work as advertised only with luck. Do not use this stuff in a closed environment. Be very careful of gas and/or electrical (sparks) leaks. There might be a moisture cure type available that can be used in suspicious environments. Their VOCs might be lower, but no guarantee. ... felix

[cajun shooter]

They have a product that is made just as the professor stated. It is put down on meat market floors, commercial food service floors. It is called a 2 component epoxy as it has a 2 part system. One is the base the other is the hardener. True epoxy has very strong chemicals in it's make up. It requires you to have a breathing hood or open air area for it's application. I have applied hundreds of gallons. I think that they have a single base product that may be cut with acetone rather than MEK. If you do some search of the paint companies would be the best start. My time of putting down epoxies was over in 1996 and maybe a newer and better product is available now. If you don't degrease and pressure wash the floor with at least a 3,500 PSI washer you are wasting your time and material. If that basement floor has a moisture seepage problem then the concrete will have to have a pretreatment first. For the correct job to be done it is labor and money intensive.

[felix]

Cajun is absolutely correct. Not a job for a casual painter. I have used both acetone and MEK as additional solvents. The latter is far better, in general. Most epoxy systems will not allow mixing solvents after the initial mixing of the two paint components, so you have to get it correct from the getgo. Not an beginner's job for sure. I will never do it again, and will hire a commercial floor guy to do it. ... felix

[crabo]

Getting the floor clean to start with was my biggest concern. Half of the basement is finished out as living quarters and the other half is workroom area. A power washer is out of the question. You could get some good ventilation because of the outside access to the basement.

I have a pretty good grasp on paints and materials, but how to preclean the floor without making a mess, I haven't figured that out.

[Lloyd Smale]

i did the floor in the reloading room with rustoleum 2 part epoxy garage paint. two years and it still looks like new. Lowes sells it fairly cheap.

[mooman76]

Clean floor to start with is an absolute I agree or they paint will start peeling well before it's time. Concrete absorbs everything liquid. I wanted to do may garage years ago and should have while it was still new. I saw a piece on TV where they did a garage and they used muradic acid to prep. They also used a pressure washer I'm sure. Don't know if you want to go there though being inside. You might try a good steam cleaner if a pressure washer is out.

[jameslovesjammie]

I used to be the Auto Center Manager at Sears. We taped off an area where the customers drop their vehicles off. We pressure washed the concrete and then used an acid product to get the original concrete sealer off.

This was over 4 years ago and the last time I dropped by it looked like the day we put it down. But the areas where we did a quicker job have started to peel and flake off. If your basement has that sealer on it, I would use the acid etching product (sold in the same area as the Rustoleum) and you will have fantastic results.

Just like painting a car...if you prep correctly you will have outstanding results. If you just try throwing it down, you won't like the finished results.

[HeavyMetal]

To clean your basement floor: you'll need a single disc buffer equipped with a Black strip pad and a good cleaner like Simple Green or that Purple stuff they sell to clean tire and wheels.

You'll also need a good sized shop vac to pick up the water with.

I would say get at least 6 black pads to do the job.

Remove everything you can from the area.

Mix the soap and water in a 50 50 mix and pour it in a Hudson sprayer and spray the area you want to clean then hit it with the buffer and strip the snot out of it.

Use the shop Vac to remove both water and soil do not allow it to dry!

Repeat as needed to clean the area you want to epoxy coat.

Keep the area ventilated and use gloves and eye protection as these soaps can be a lot more aggressive with human tissue than the maker wants you to know!

Disposal may be an issue depending what state your in but in most cases' going to an enclosed sewer system will get the dirty water to a treatment plant and your good! This mean down the toilet!

Now once the floor is clean keep everyone off it because your not done! Any foot traffic will drag trash back on the clean floor.

Before applying the epoxy you need to do a rinse down / etching of the concrete so the epoxy will get a "bite" on the concrete floor.

Plain old White Vinager is the ticket here! It is Acetic acid and will nuetralize any soap and water residue left on the floor and etch the floor so the coating can get a good grip on it!

Same procedure as cleaning but use a 75/25 mixing on Vinager and water. BY the way "pop" for a couple bottles of distilled water for this portion of your prep. This way you won't be importing trash found in most faucet water.

Once you've done all this, and you make sure the floor temp will be within the limits of the material your using ( to cold a floor is second reason coatings fail dirt is the first) keep everyone off the floor and spray your coating on.

Most makers say you can mop or roll the finish on.

Trust me their idiots! mopping will leave strands of mop string all over the finish and rolling will give it a puckered look.

Spraying is the ticket to maximum coverage and a professional look when done!

Depending on the material you buy you may be able to use a Hudson sprayer or you may have to use an HVLP paint gun.

Good Luck!

[shooter93]

Nothing wrong with epoxies, I've used tons of the stuff over the years.....that being said...Pratt and Lambert make a latex floor/porch/deck finish called With Stand. It does have extremely good durability and would work even on a damp floor or one not completely dry. Any moisture under epoxies is trouble. I painted my garage floor with it, which I use as my cabinet shop, yrs ago and it's held up well. It's also much easier to re-apply than epoxies should it need it or you want to change colors.

[lathesmith]

In last several years I have used the urethane-based colored sealers in both a basement and in garages, with very good results. The key, as others have stated, is get that floor clean; I used a muratic-acid based stuff that worked great on oil, grease, and other contaminants.
If you go this route, use a respirator when applying, and NOT just a dust mask! Also, use a fan to pull the fumes out, you will be VERY glad you did! I used a roller to apply mine, and it worked great. This stuff is potent, but once it's down it makes a great finish for a garage or a basement.

lathesmith

[mack1]

If acetone is used as a cleaner or solvent for paint use extreme caution as it has a low flash point and can and the smallest spark including static electricity will set it off. Mek has a higher flash point but has a higher voc also.

[leadman]

The purple soap sold in 2 1/2 gal. containers at WalMart is a strong alkali and will clean and degrease the floor, as well as etch the concrete for better paint adhesion.

Many years ago we painted the parts room in our shop with 2 part epoxy. Nobody mentioned this to Dispatch above the parts room, they all went to the emergency room.

There are less toxic products available now.

[Lloyd Smale]

the rustoleum kit comes with the cleaner. Its easy to use too.

[cajun shooter]

If you use real epoxy you will need as I stated before a fresh air hood. If not you will first become intoxicated to the point of nothing you have felt before. After this the headache will knock you off your feet. I have applied thousands of gallons of the real thing and will tell you that some of the postings may work OK for a while but will come off in short period of time. The reason I posted the two different solvents is that some of the epoxies meant for lighter traffic areas will use it rather than the much stronger (MEK) Methyl Ethyl Ketone. I don't care what anyone tells you about this job but if it can't be cleaned with a pressure washer and then acid etched and then neutralized with vinegar, your job will not work. The instructions I gave you are for heavy duty type jobs. If you don't care about it coming up in a short while then your cheaper products will suffice. The product that is sold for garage floors that another member posted will work if you do some type of cleaning. Any painting that is done on any material will require it to be clean. I understood you to say a sausage making area and was under the idea to meet health inspections.

[crabo]

The reason for painting the floor is just to make it easier to clean up. The work area is in the basement of the house and the sausage is for personal consumption. They have a pretty good deer harvest every year and a lot of venison to process.

I like the idea of the floor buffer and the scrub pads. I can see that getting the floor clean enough with a wet dry vac cleaning up the mess.

The Rustoleum product is a good product. I've seen it used and really like it.

Lloyd, what happens when a hot boolit hits it? Have you had that happen?

[Lloyd Smale]

Most of my lead droppings fall on the shock mats i have down to stand on but some have fell on the floor and ive never noticed a burn mark from them

[hiram1]

good guys all of you. i know it was not me that asked but you told him the right way to do it.and that tells me a lot about the guys on here.some day you will get payed for doing the right thing.thanks

[DLCTEX]

I sold my shop in town and am building one at home. I was thinking I would paint the floor with epoxy, is there a prep needed for new concrete?

[crabo]

There is definately some prep needed. I would figure out what product I wanted to use, and follow the mfg. instructions. They generally have the best handle on what is needed for their product.

We haven't done the one yet. It will probably be next summer before we do.