Concrete sealer??

In about 3 months or so, I'll be moving into a new house - they just broke ground this week. You know what that means? A virgin garage!!!

A couple of years after moving into our current home, the garage floor was looking dingy and I painted it. First I used 2-part epoxy garage floor paint. I held up pretty good, but the color was a very light gray. Too light, it started looking a little dingy after a couple of years, so I painted it again - this time with a single-part garage floor paint in a darker gray. It hasn't held up as well - mainly because of the lack of adhesion to the original paint. Still, it's way easier to keep clean than bare concrete!

This time I plan to coat the floor before anything is moved in (before oil is dripped and grime is ground into the concrete!), but I don't want to spend the kind of money some of the high-end garage floor coatings cost (that money had already been spent on upgraded cabinets, hardwood floors, Berber carpet, etc. - you know the routine). It seems that $250-$300 is about the minimum for that stuff. I'm thinking about 2 options available at Lowes/Home Depot.

First is the two-part epoxy Rustoleum brand garage floor paint at Lowes. I think it's about $50 per gallon, and one gallon should do it. The color is similar to the darker gray on my floor now - and it's a good color for a garage. Rustoleum is a quality brand, so I'm thinking they wouldn't put their name on a coating that would be too prone to hot-tire lifting.

Second is the coating that you see used a lot now on driveways, walks and patios - a clear (or tinted) sealer that is commonly used on exposed aggregate. It's cheaper ($12 a gallon, or about $50 for 5 gallons). Hot-tire lifting shouldn't be a problem (you don't see it lifting on driveways!). It may need recoating every couple of years due to wear, but I don't mind that.

Opinions anyone? :-)

What'ca reckon plain old Thompson's water seal would do? Would'nt be any big deal to recoat with a garden sprayer every year. But would it keep engine oil from soaking in?

I'll be interested as well. We're closing on our new house in about 3 weeks so I'm facing the same situation.

This old link has some good info
<http://www.mgbexperience.com/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=92627&t=92416>

I'd be interested to get a quote from the concrete floor coatings people.

I wouldn't worry about color, concrete look OK. I put some kind of thin clear stuff on my carport with a mop and even black diesel drippings from the Tank come right up with oil dry. You can't see that I did anyting. I've never seen a painted garage floor I liked worth a damn in any color.

I'm interested...we're opening the back wall so the garage is now 48' deep instead of 28"...I want to seal & checkerboard the old & new floors....

If your cement finisher does a real good burn finish, you don't need anything!! The secret is to finish it totally with a power trowel!! I don't know what you guys call them, but a burned out finish is unpenetratable by anything!! It should be turning black and it should be hard to hang on to the machine!! Believe me, I've done a few!! There are also hardeners that you can add as you finish! Check with your local specialty store!!

you mean you are not gonna carpet the addition to the Garage Mahal?

Hey Joe,

I'm just up the road from you in Nashville. I've been using the aggregate sealer on my brown exposed aggregate driveway for 7 years now. I have to re-seal every 2 to 3 years (and this is the week!). It really could be done every other year. But the fade is from weather and sun exposure. You can see where I park my car in the driveway--it's not faded as badly. Locally, it's available in clear, brown and grey.
The only disadvantage I see is that it is very slick. If there is any water on the surface at all, it's like an ice rink. I've seen a sand-like additive at Home Depot for the epoxy paints, it might work in the sealer as well. The odor is also very strong.
Now I'm curious. I think I'll try a small spot on my garage floor when I do the driveway and seel how it does

Andrew - thanks for the info!!

It sounds like that might be the product I use. If it'll hold up outdoors and the car tires don't lift it, it should do just fine in a garage. Fortunately, I'll be coating it before I move in, so the odor won't be a problem

I don't mind recoating it every couple of years. Even with paint, it'll get some dirt and grime ground in, get scratches, etc. - so it would need to be redone periodically to keep it looking nice. As I understand it, that aggregrate sealer actually dissolves the first coat so a second coat bonds to it - so a recoating should be as durable as the original. I plan to use the clear coating, so fading shouldn't be an issue - especially indoors.

As for the floor being slick when wet - it's the same way with paint. That's both good and bad. When you sweep the floor, it's just like it's coated with Teflon. But when it's wet, you'd better be careful!

Gary....that burn finish sounds like a good idea, but I'm not sure my builder will do it - he doesn't like special stuff. I'm stuck with him though, since he had the only lot left in the area I wanted...

I'll let you guys know how it works! Unfortunately, it'll probably be October before I do it.....

You might want to test whatever you use with a few of the solvents that you normally keep for car use. A friend did his garage with an expensive industrial grade clear sealer. Oil and grease and water are no problem, but brake cleaner goes right through it.

Soemwhere I was reading about garage floor sealers, and one of the things that was pointed out was that the floor in the garage does not have a vapor barrier installed when it was poured, and that was the cause of some of the coatings lifting off, ie water vapor from underneath was causing that. I can't think that a vapor barrier could be that expensive since it is roll plastic

But then again, what I don't know about pouring a concrete garage floor would fill a large book.

That's one thing I like about the aggregate sealer. It's been used for several years on driveways, etc., outdoors with success - and those never have a vapor barrier.

I'm not surprised that brake cleaner would destroy just about any coating. I used some of that (along with just about every other toxic chemical I could find) when cleaning 25 years of gook under the hood of my car before repainting it. I think that stuff would remove your fingerprints if you're not careful!!

Here's a link with some information on the Rustoleum product from the HGTV site:

<http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_driveways_walkways/article/0,1797,HGTV_3691_1395170,00.html>

Make sure you get the pour date from the builder. Anything less than 30 days and you risk having your new "sealed finish" bubble off the floor because of hydrostatic pressure. This becomes even more critical if a vapour barrier is used because the moisture in the curing concrete has nowhere to go but up and through your new finish.

Here's a link with more info on the aggregate sealer. <http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/maintaining/sealingexposed.htm> Click on the Expo-Gloss link in the article for info on one brand of the sealer. It does say it is for exterior use only. But, it does not say why. Anyone have a idea?

I just sent 'em an email asking why it shouldn't be used in a garage or on smooth concrete. We'll see what they say. If this is ruled out, I may use the Rustoleum.....or maybe just Thompson's Water Seal...
I guess I'm being a little anal about this....after all, it's just a garage....but I want it to stay looking nice...

Make sure that there is a vapor barior under your floor! That is one of the cheapest and easiest things to do that helps keep your house dry!!! We have a 'leaky condo' situation in Victoria and Vancouver!! In (example) Kelowna, it would be waaaaay different!! Vapour barrier for sure though!!

That is totally different Joe!! Heat inside makes a huge difference!! It draws moisture!!

That is not true! I have sealed drivewys and floors within a couple of days and no problem!! 28 days is when concrete hits it's 'test' strength!!!

Yup!! read my above post!!

I've had GC'S instruct us to install linoleum and vct prior to 30 days and had the product lift off the floor because of moisture. I guess that is where my caution is coming from. Our experience has us doing moisture tests now.

My business <camcorflooring.com>

The 30 days has nothing to do with it!! It is no vapour barrier under it!! I have spent hours in seminars and I doubt that a lot of the instructors have a clue what they are talking about! In '86 we did a major renovation in the Marine base at 29 Palms!! The engineers decided that we had to stucco the concrete block, because we could not wait the mandatory 28 days to paint it. We stuccoed, and it all fell off!! I laughed and pointed out to them that anywhere that the paint got on the 'new wall' it was just fine!! I got fired the next day, which did not break my heart!! Trust me!! 28 days is the time that it takes concrete to come up to test strength!! It does, however, come up to about 70% in 7 to 10 days though!! We seal driveways all the time after 5 to 7 days!! Anyway, you can't go wrong with 30 days, I just think (read that know) that it is totally unnecessary!! I have put lino on properly prepared floors in waaaaay less that 28 days, with no adverse results!!

if you've put down lino in less than 28 days with no adverse results, you've definately dodged a bullet. I won't do it anymore as the ensuing problems can be costly.

I would not pour any kind of salb without a vapour barrior. It's so cheap and you just never know what you might want to do with that slab in the future. Can't go back and add it very easy after the fact. We have several companies around here that will come out and refinish your slab to make it look like quarry tile. Looks realy super. The cut groves in it and stain the concrete any color you want. I've been in resturants that had this and it is holding up well. They get far worse abuse that you would give it in a shop. If you decide to paint the floor, keep in mind that the next time you paint it, it will need to be cleaned with a pressure washer and maybe even re-etched. This might make a difference in what you use for the lower walls, choose something that will stand up to the water and abuse

Some good information under the "protect and beautify concrete" heading in the left column too.

I disagree!!! But that is OK!!