13/11/2024

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Painting Concrete Floors the Right Way Using Concrete Paint

Painting Concrete Floors the Right Way Using Concrete Paint

When painting concrete floors, you should bear in mind that there is no other correct way to paint them other than using Concrete Paint. Using other types of paint would likely produce disastrous results, costing you precious time, effort and money. So you must know beforehand what kind of paint to use for the type of surface you will be working on. First off, the commonly used term “Concrete Paint” is not correct. The compounds that are used to provide protection and color for exterior concrete walls and similar surfaces are called “coating”. For interior concrete floors, “dyes” or “stains” are the products used. Paint finishes have a general thickness of about 2-4 mm. while in contrast, coatings can reach up to 10-16 mm. Dyes and stains on the other hand penetrates deep within the porous surface layer to achieve color permanence. So there lies the difference.

Exterior Concrete Walls

The best way to paint exterior concrete walls and other similar exterior wall surfaces is by using masonry paint. Also, known as elastomeric wall coating or simply elastomeric paint, this kind of coating is flexible enough to handle certain structural movements without losing its bond with concrete and developing cracks. It incorporates special binders that contract and expand with the wall material in contrast to ordinary exterior house paints that would simply crack and peel of under similar conditions. Masonry paints also serve to bridge gaps and cracks, thus reinforcing concrete surfaces. The best way to apply masonry paint is to use a high-grade roller (3/4 inch or higher). You can also use a spray but because masonry paints tend to be thicker than ordinary house paints and contain fine particles that could cause clogging issues, be sure to use the appropriate spraying equipment for the job.

Concrete Flooring

Since interior concrete floors are prone to wear and tear, painting concrete floors should offer permanence and luster that would last for years. There are a number of products you can use to achieve the color effects you want for your floor ranging from the opaque colors to the semi transparent and metallic finishes. Their common characteristic is that they are able to penetrate deep within the porous surface to achieve a permanent color effect.

Water-Based Stains

Usually a mixture of pigments and acrylic polymers, water-based stains offer a broad gamut of colors ranging from the glossy translucent to solid opaque.

Concrete Dyes

They have a much smaller particle size compared to water-based stains permitting easy penetration and color saturation. There are two types of this kind of Concrete Paint, namely water-based dyes that produce a marbling effect on floors and solvent-based dyes that produce a more uniform color effect.