How can I prepare and paint my concrete floor in the basement?

It was poured about 4 years ago. It was painted but not etched. When it gets wet the paint comes off and the color gets on things. Can I use a sealer of some sort to seal it and repaint over it? If not, how do I remove the existing paint? (Some comes off when it gets wet, not all.)How can I prepare and paint my concrete floor in the basement?
JUST GO TO THE DIY WEB SITEHow can I prepare and paint my concrete floor in the basement?
The paint is not the right one to have used if its coming off when wet. the first job is to get the old paint off- you can't just paint over the top because the paint will just bubble and come off. So you'll need a paint solvent (get this from any DIY shop or paint shop. If you don't know whether the present paint is an oil-based or water based one, you can test it.


Then once all the old paint is off, hose down or wipe down with bleach or strong detergent. Get that off with fresh water and let dry out thoroughly for a couple of days. Once the cement is clean and dry, repaint using a suitable paint - again, see the paint shop and ask the salesperson which one.


Choose a nice color and roll it on with a roller on a broomhandle. Paint in the edges by hand. It will be beautiful!


good luck.





www.clever-kitchen-designs.com ( for all painting techniques on furniture...)
Color comes off? You must mean flakes of dried paint. The ';only'; thing you can do is get on your hands and knees and scrape the paint off, using a scraper, metal spackle knife, metal putty knife, rough sand paper(60 grit) and get all the loose stuff off. If it is bubbling, it is loose(as it is not stuck to the floor). If it does not scrape off, then it stuck well right there so you can leave it.


I am not understanding the part of ';when it gets wet'; You mean while it is drying, the lifting is happening? That is because the water gets behind the paint and into the cement and combines with the lime in the cement mixture to make';da ta ta taaaa'; paint remover. Lime does that.


Especially if it is an oil based floor paint. Do the whole floor you painted with the scraping and then broom it up(or vacuum it clean. Should be lots of areas with concrete showing by the way you suggest.


Now get some muriatic acid(it is a form of hydrochloric acid) which can be gotten at the paint department of the store. You also want some good rubber gloves and a stiff natural bristle brush and goggles. You are going to read the label on the acid. Put water in your plastic pail first( a gallon) and on top of the water you pour the acid and stir it up with the brush. Open all the windows in the basement and have a fan blowing the fumes out of the basement. Then go coat the floor with it. It will fizz. If you have a soft haired bristle push broom that will work too and you have a long handle to boot. Paint the acid over-top of the areas where the paint stuck, it does not matter. It won't hurt it. Do the entire floor quickly and while it is still wet with acid, get another bucket with clean water and a rag and wash off the acid. If you have a floor drain it is perfect situation as you could rinse and squeegee the water into the drain so that the floor is almost acid free(basically clean). Let it dry fully


The acid neutralizes the surface lime instantly...so there is no reason to leave the acid on the floor after that point. You don't want to dissolve all the lime because that is what makes concrete-concrete. So get the acid off in about an hour or so and let the floor dry out-which means just angling that fan floor-ward and keeping the windows open. This could take 2 hours or more.. While it is drying go and find some concrete paint. Get 100% acrylic latex over any oil based one. If it is just a regular basement floor it is not the worth of epoxy paint. Elastomeric is too rubbery. Latex has the ability not to react with the slight acidity or alkalinity(lime) in the floor and stick better as it remains rubbery instead of getting rock hard(like oil paints finally become- and break up and flake off)


No sealer before or after. Acrylic latex is a plastic paint....meaning once the water is evaporated, the plastic remains. It is washable like any other plastic. 100% acrylic may cost more';if the store is trying to shaft you with the pricing'; offering some with 10% acrylic in it(if that is still being sold anymore as that is very old paint on the shelf) as the majority of acrylic latex is 100% . Forget the others that have some other chemical in there instead of acrylic. It is marked on thelabelingg somewhere.


With paint, you get what you pay for ...you buy a cheap paint, you get a cheap paint. Just means more work(as it may not cover in one coat, yada,yada,yada) Best you buy from a paint store. I found General Paint a good middle of the road paint - decent paint for a reasonable price. Pittsburg costs a bit more, BM a lot more and quality difference (or longevity)is not noticeable.


There is no primer. These go directly on the concrete. Read the label. Follow directions to the letter.


Unfortunately there is only a few manufacturer colors/ grey/white/tile red/grass green/. They cannot make custom colors. If you want a different color then you buy the paint and mix the colors together green and white to give a light green. It is now ';your'; specific custom color/ and still will hold up as regular floor paint.


I personally won't do my floors and they still are concrete grey after 30 years. (But if I were to paint them, I would still need to acid wash them first to neutralize the lime because it is still there....meaning 4 years is fresh concrete so yeah the lime is there.) That acid wash is in a sense, your etching.