Basement Concrete Floor - paint, stain or epoxy?


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Old 07-01-19, 02:10 PM
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Basement Concrete Floor - paint, stain or epoxy?

We have a concrete floor in our basement laundry/furnace room that we want to finish (it has been a saga that's for sure). There was two layers of paint - green (original layer) and then grey (grey was applied by my wife 20 years ago, I believe it was oil-based).

We decided to etch the entire floor with muriatic acid, then apply a Lowes product called "ValsparConcrete Bonding Primer", then a couple of coats of "Valspar Latex Porch and Floor Paint". The paint simple easily peeled all over the place with basic traffic and use (crappy!).

We rented a Diamabrush Mastic Removal tool and floor maintainer from the local Home Depot and with a lot of effort and mess, ground off all the paint down to nice, bare concrete.

My question - what should we use to finish the floor? We want durability, reasonable ease of application and cost. Any suggestions? We are contemplating 2-part epoxy, 1-part epoxy, concrete stain, maybe even a good paint. We have a dryer, washer, fridge, and stand-up freezer that we will have to move into place and not want to damage our new floor (the washer and freezer would be the heaviest and most likely to damage the new surface).

Suggestions/advice/comments would be appreciated.
 
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Old 07-01-19, 02:16 PM
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Yeah it probably peeled off if you didn't neutralize the acid and rinse it properly afterward.

Epoxy will probably hold up the best but not if the concrete is not properly prepped again.
 
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Old 07-01-19, 02:29 PM
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Thanks for replying XSleeper!

We did mop off the muriatic acid somewhat but you might be right I don't know. Sherwin Williams is supposedly giving us a refund on the paint and primer.

Should we go with the 1-part epoxy or maybe the 2-part epoxy? I bought two Rustoleum Epoxy Shield kits for garages on sale (2 part epoxy), would this be overkill since it is meant for garages? We won't be driving on it, but we do want durability (we have to move a heavy freezer and washer into place and don't want to scape up the new surface).

Do those 1-part epoxy products hold up in terms of durability? Rustoleum sells one, so does Home Depot...
 
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Old 07-01-19, 02:37 PM
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Personally, I have only used the Rustoleum garage kits, which work fine. But again, proper prep is essential for any coating you want to stick. Not only that but if there is any hydrostatic pressure, even the best coating will fail.
 
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Old 07-01-19, 02:46 PM
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What kind of prep did you use? I know you should follow the instructions supplied. We have cleaned/buffed with a Diamabrush "mastic removal tool": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNGjQTP0ttc

It left the concrete looking great and looks like it hadn't been painted at all. A big, messy job but worth it.
 
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Old 07-01-19, 03:31 PM
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https://www.rustoleum.com/~/media/Di...ating_TDS.ashx

Notice their instructions specifically say "do not use muriatic acid".

When rinsing a concrete floor, I like to use a product by Egan Supply called Nu-Tral in a commercial floor scrubber. And then you need to give it about 30 days to dry, with plenty of ventilation.
 
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Old 07-01-19, 04:59 PM
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ground off all the paint down to nice, bare concrete.
So I had my garage done a couple years ago, my installer worked for a company that did work for airlines and government projects, and used the same PPG materials which have held up great!.

The only other DIY product that he said was good was worth anything was called epoxy coat but had a lot of bad comments about the rustoleum and anything with Bear associated.

https://www.epoxy-coat.com/
 
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Old 07-02-19, 03:49 AM
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I prefer not to finish basement slabs because they are prone to have moisture migrate up thru the concrete which will cause any coating to peel. IF you are convinced moisture won't be an issue - use epoxy. Otherwise I'd recommend a concrete stain as they rarely peel and are easy to recoat.
 
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Old 07-02-19, 06:41 AM
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marksr - thanks for replying. You make a good point about not finishing a basement slab because of possible moisture issues ruining the finish. We don't presently have any moisture problems nor do we foresee future problems. It does look a lot better with just plain unfinished concrete rather than a three-toned peeling paint finish. And plain concrete doesn't scratch up much at all. Food for thought...

Anyone else have a comment, advice or a suggestion? Great advice so far!
 
 

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