Question for those who know. I have been reading and researching and still not sure. Brand new shop floor, smooth finish.

Will be used for mainly vehicle maintenance and repairs. What concrete paint or sealer would work well for that environment?
I have had very good luck with Kilz products for the home and they offer a paint, but i “think” i want a white floor.

Then there is a several step epoxy paint with cake sprinkles for close to 1K.

Just looking for something that is tough and perhaps easy to touch up.

Thanks

I know epoxy some (moisture is ALWAYS critical with epoxies). You are in AZ... so you should be fine.

Paint... no idea.

But paint will wear like paint, so there is that.

Did you use curing compound on your concrete?

I've done a few, I clean it then hit the floor with a floor buffer using a sanding head, once that's cleaned up I use Ardex feather finish to skim coat and seal the whole floor then paint.

I just researched this for my basement

if the concrete is sealed, the garage floor epoxy's say you shouldn't use them

I've watched some videos where people rented concrete grinders to prep the floors for epoxy

I ended up putting sealant on top of an already sealed floor (from the 70s) then using a garage floor paint, which I know I'll need to touch up over time. I opted to just have a spare gallon of floor paint than invest in grinding and putting an epoxy down that would probably be overkill.

next door neighbor spent serious money on a professional floor epoxy on his garage and it still scuffed from tires. He was pissed about it.

I used a clear sealer on a garage floor years ago. Looked great. but sure was slippery with even a little bit of water (or oil) on it. I havent stained, nor painted one since.

I wonder what truck bed liner would do on a garage floor with some anti-skid added to it?

Since it’s a new floor (should be less damage/imperfections), you could use a polyurea product. Dries much quicker than epoxy. As hard or harder. About 1/2-2/3 the thickness (won’t hide quite as many imperfections). Does NOT “yellow” like epoxy, if you get lots of sunlight near a large garage door/etc.

Cost for materials is about the same, but you can re-coat in a couple hours, finish job in a day, rather than a multi-day project like an epoxy. Nohr-S is one product. There are many others.

Thanks all.
Some of the epoxy floors are very nice but i think way overkill for what i need.

I will probably wind up using a primer/paint to cover it. I fully expect to need touch up every so often in the high travel areas. Along the walls where the tool boxes sit should last for years.

I used this on my basement floor

I would say its better than paint, but not anywhere close to like a 2 part rocksolid rustoleum

Put some grit in concrete floor paint. Shark bite is one brand. There are others. Helps with traction.



Clyde

Raw concrete epoxy finish.... now it can get slippery so make sure you throw the flakes in there or you can add some Grit...

You want to check and see if you got water pushing up through that concrete or moisture take a one foot or 2 ft Square feet of 6 mil plastic and duct tape it all the way around nice and tight for 24 hours if you get moisture on the other side you're going to have problems

Epoxy will scratch, dull and yellow if UV protection isnt used.

Epoxy paint flake stuff is ok…… I guess.

I would pick a sealer/wax and use that.

This, he probably will get moisture coming up on that brand new floor. All the moisture should be out in 28 days.

I used Daich RollerRock product on my RV pad, sidewalks, and car parking areas.

Surface prep was key, and after 3 years it still looks great.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it in my garage, I just don't want to have to move all my stuff out of it to get it done:

Daich RolleRock

You might want to price check this, I'd bet it's way cheaper than epoxy, and it's DIY friendly.

Good luck!

Did a basement and garage floor with Rock Solid. The basement was great but never ever in the garage again. Even with the flakes which add no anti slip and the anti slip grit mixed in that floor with a little water or oil was slicker than snot. Bringing snow/slush onto it was even worse.

There is a big difference between epoxy paint and epoxy resin. Some people get mixed up.
The epoxy paint we used in the photos was a one part water-based product from Sherwin Williams