# Forum Home Renovation Flooring  Painting concrete floor throughout entire house

## renonewbie

Hi, I need some advice. I am going to make a feature of my concrete floor as I can't afford to tile it at this stage.  Ideally wanted polished concrete floors but the quality of concrete in some areas is dodgy.  I have ripped up carpet and chipped tiles, used industrial concrete grinder to smooth out the rough bits... My house is a bit arty-farty and I don't mind that the surface is not perfect as it certainly is my first time reno.  
I'd like to use a variety of funky colours on the floor, then seal it with a thick glossy layer of some sort.  Can anyone advise which was to go? Specifically, I have these questions... 
1. Acid etching the floor. Is this essential? The research I've read says it is but every person I've spoken to says it is not necessary.
2. Do I need to prime the floor, if so what is recommended?
3. I have to level out some areas and have bought LANKO self levelling concrete.  Do I need to treat this area differently than the rest of the floor?
4. What sort of paint do I need to use? Can I use normal household paint if I am going to seal the floor?
5. What would you recommend to seal the floor and give me the look I am going for? 
Lots of questions, I know. I am very keen to do as much work myself, but being inexperienced I find myself asking more questions every day. 
Cheers - I really appreciate any advice!

----------


## SilentButDeadly

If you want to go with a funky finish then use a concrete sealer formulation that allows you to tint it just as you would ordinary paint. 
If you go this path then you can use either a 2 pack formulation or preferably something water based. 
In our shed I used Crommelin Concrete Sealer Crommelin - Waterproofing, Sealers, Roof Coatings and Asbestos Treatment. and I believe it is tintable but I haven't bothered.  Be worth asking Crommelin though.  Either way it's a tough product. 
You could always just tint the floor with food dyes of various colours and then seal them in with the above.  Test it out on some concrete pavers....

----------


## Master Splinter

1. Acid etching the floor. Is this essential? The research I've read says it is but every person I've spoken to says it is not necessary. If it's external, weathered concrete that is really clean...you can get away with it.  If not, etch. (etching gets rid of all the loose stuff that might come off after you paint - if it feels like 100 grit sandpaper and it's really, really clean you can probably live without etching)
2. Do I need to prime the floor, if so what is recommended? Whatever the manufacturer recommends. (it's their paint system, so hopefully they know what does and does not work!)
3. I have to level out some areas and have bought LANKO self levelling concrete. Do I need to treat this area differently than the rest of the floor? It's going to look quite different to the rest of the slab unless you have an opaque paint finish over it.
4. What sort of paint do I need to use? Can I use normal household paint No.if I am going to seal the floor? No real difference in price between normal paint and stuff that is designed for concrete, so using a paint which may run into problems later is silly.  If you are going to be putting a sealer over the top, then of course you have to make sure that whatever you use is compatible with your intended sealer.  Work this out now, rather than after you have painted otherwise you could find yourself stripping the floor back to bare concrete again.
5. What would you recommend to seal the floor and give me the look I am going for? If you are really keen on a funky, durable floor finish, look at some of the industrial epoxy finishes available.  However, these are usually sold to architects and interior designers and they have a price to match. See http://www.globalconcretesolutions.com.au/products.html

----------


## renonewbie

Thanks guys for the advice. I sincerely appreciate it.   
I spoke to someone today at a paint store and they told me not to use wall paint (or similar) as it would lift.  I will look at the website suggested also - Cheers. 
Regarding the etching - OK, so I will have to etch and yes, it is inside the house. From what I'm researching, all instructions refer to 'hosing the area down thoroughly to remove acid and debris'.  Now, I HAVE used the gurney in the house recently to remove the concrete dust (and successfully wet vac'ed up the water and slurry). Surely I don't need to do this again?  
What do people normally do in this situation? (I'm sure I sound like an inexperienced girly girl...  but that's what I am and I'm willing to learn!).   
Cheers!

----------


## Dusty

From the sounds of your opening post I can glean that you're not super fussy, nor do you want to spend a heap of dough on this....So, here's what I suggest. 
First up, give the floor a coat of single pac polyurethane (Polycure's gloss product HERE is ideal) 
Once dry, the coating should be cut back, I.E a light sand and a decent vacuum 
Then do whatever colour's, pattens, designs and motifs that take your fancy, using acrylic (water based) paint, then, once dry, apply a further two, or preferably three coats of the above mentioned gloss polyurethane. Perform a cut back between each coat as you go to ensure you get the maximum depth and shine of the polyurethane. 
Doing this will allow the first coat to seal the floor, plus enable the paint to have something to laminate to. The subsequent coats will give it that wow factor. 
I've done something like this on occasions with timber floors, where customers have wanted a stencil done on their floor. Works a treat. Have a squizz right HERE.

----------

