Painting Concrete Paving and Floors

Floor coatings are specially designed to be tough and abrasion resistant. Special properties such as acid and oil resistance may be required for certain floors, e.g. in garages and workshops. Cast in situ concrete is often used for driveway and other paving applications. This material is often nor cured properly (i.e. using an impermeable menbrane such as a polythene cover) and subsequently the surface layers fail to cure adequately and a sandy, friable surface is produced.

Surface preparation
This is the critical part of any painting project: poor preparation is the principal cause of coating failure. The object of surface preparation is to provide a strong surface before applying any paint.  The necessary steps are as follows:
1. Wash the surface thoroughly using water and a strong brush. This should remove all loosely bound sand particles and any poorly adhering paint coatinds. A high-pressure water jet is recommended.
2. Rinse the floor with clean water and then leave it to dry out. The moisture content should be below 15%. This can be measured using a moisture meter.
3. Check the adhesion of any existing paint coatings by pressing adhesive tape (e.g. masking tape) onto the dry surface. Pull the tape off the surface and inspect the underside of the tape.

Paint application
1. Acrylic Coating System
Use a roller, brush or by airless spraying. Two coats are recommended for optimum durability and quality finish. Allow the first coat to cure for at least 2 hours before applying the final coat.
2. Epoxy Coating System
Mix the two components (4 epoxy base + 1 hardener, by volume). Add 15% lacquer thinners. Apply to the surface using a brush or mohair (enamel). Leave to cure overnight then reapply without diluting the paint. Note that this product has a pot life. It its consistency starts to thicken, do not use the product.
3. Enamel Coating System