Which colour for garage floor is best?

[johnyev]

I am about to buy epoxy paint to cover my new garage floor with. Probably the non slip version as I don’t want to end up on my ****. There is a choice of colours.
Light grey is my thought at the moment, but blue, green, red and clear available.
Is epoxy the way to go?
What colour is best to live with?
Am I wasting my money?
Concrete is new (1 year old) clean but needs building dust removing and possibly finishing with an electric concrete diamond floor polisher first to Take off 3/5 mm down to non dusty stuff. ( yes I know it should have been finished properly when wet)
I want a hard wearing finish that I don’t wish I’d done differently in 3 years time.
Thanks

 

[Mr Fro]

A few years back I extended my garage to a double over the existing slab. It had that wiggly finish builders put on when I imagine they're too lazy to make it flat. The previously outside slab was weathered and the inside was mostly dusty.

I primed it then poured some Wikes heavy duty fibrous self levelling stuff and put a couple of coats of blue Bedec floor paint over the top.

I weld, grind and shuffle about in front of the bench, lathe and mill and have been very impressed with how well it's holding up.

I've used jacks and axle stands on it without leaving any dents - same goes for heavy stuff I've dropped on it. Spills clean up nicely and it was unaffected when the garage was flooded due to the mega rain earlier in the year.

My only niggle is that for the first few weeks after painting, some of the paint pulled off under car & bike tyres but I think that was due to the tyres being hot after some spirited riding/driving and being dumped in the garage straight away.

 

[mtt.tr]

I like light grey

 

[premmington]

I like light grey

I like light grey too... Yes we agree too much!



To be honest - my previous workshop had a super tough power floated floor - it wore well and we never painted it.

The building I am in now - as a terrible floor - I am always filling it and painting it.


What is the best stuff for filling concrete floors?

 

[8ob]

What is the best stuff for filling concrete floors?

The guys that painted a factory floor on a job we did used some kind of 2 part resin on repairs, no labels/brands on the tins

Bob

 

[mtt.tr]

I like light grey too... Yes we agree too much!



To be honest - my previous workshop had a super tough power floated floor - it wore well and we never painted it.

The building I am in now - as a terrible floor - I am always filling it and painting it.


What is the best stuff for filling concrete floors?

Epoxy concrete stuff is probably the best

 

[premmington]

Epoxy concrete stuff is probably the best

One of the flooring chaps we repair vans for - gave me some yellow two pack stuff - this was really good.

Would buy some - if I knew what it was called?

 

[mtt.tr]

One of the flooring chaps we repair vans for - gave me some yellow two pack stuff - this was really good.

Would buy some - if I new what it was called?

Everbuild sell an expoxy repair stuff, haven't personally used it but their products are normally pretty good

 

[johnyev]

It comes down to a few factors and these may influence your choice of colour, do you weld in your garage in positions other then on a bench, if so then avoid lighter colours as they flare terribly and can cause sunburn like symptoms.
Do you flame or plasma cut directly onto the floor? they you need heat resistance, similarly, do you grind over the garage floor, they you need impact resistance, do you drive vehicles around inside, then you need resistance to turning wheels.

Do you work on the floor, e.g. under or around vehicles? then you need a colour where you can see tools you are using on the floor, and do you use things such as trolley jacks or engine hoists with steel wheels, then you need resistance to these.

When I built my barns I laid concrete slabs and finished them fairly well and worked on a plain concrete floor and this knocked must of the high spots off, I drive and work on classic trucks and driving these round flattened the floors, I left them for approximately 6 months before touching them, I degreased and jet washed them down until they were clean, I bought el cheapo emulsion in 25L drums and thoroughly mixed them and rollered 3 coats on to seal the concrete and let it cure fully.

I opted for anti slip PU paint in dark grey because it was cheap, it was to dark for me so I lightened it using the same paint in white to give me a mid grey and painted this with a roller, it had a first coat which was left for several days, followed by two more coats and this was allowed to fully cure. I have many machines bolted down and the large bandsaw, milling machine, and lathe tend to get lots of suds on the floor and I simply jet wash this off and roller more paint in these areas when they get bad.

Epoxy paints are fine but expensive and this raises the issue of cost V durability and in reality I have found little difference between them.

It’s an L shape so vehicle straight in and out really, bench/workshop bit on the left.
Weld, grind, possibly plasma in future but I can avoid cutting direct onto floor with a plate etc., crawl around, jacks and stands yes and spill oil. Machine suds I have no plans for.
I might put some duramats down by the bench on top of finished floor.
Also it’s about 30 m square so epoxy is affordable rather than your lovely position of having a barn.
Thanks for the replies folks

 

[frank horton]

I quite fancy a light grey floor but under the car lift bright yellow......
I have this thing about mopping workshop floors at least once a week.....sad I know....
when the new workshop is finished my wife has promised to buy a McDonalds style rollalong mop bucket......yeahhhhhh....
small things.....hahaha...

 

[Morrisman]

My last garage had an ‘unfinished’ floor that gave off dust continually. After a year or so I decided to paint it and was recommended simple Wickes grey garage floor paint, thinned down so it would soak into the pores of the concrete. I gave the place a brush and good hoover, then laid the paint on with a roller on a broomstick.
I was working offshore at the time so I was lucky to be able to leave it five weeks to harden up. Next time round I gave it a second coat.

It wasn’t perfect, but that’s because the concrete was rough underneath, but it made it SO much less dusty and so much easier to sweep up muck, wipe up oil spills etc.

If you’re going to go to the trouble of polishing it down I’d spend the money on some sort of Epoxy, but it seems like a lot of work and expense for what it is. They always seem to use that system on American garage builds, as per garage journal.com, but they do have some nice finishes available in the paint.

 

[Sickpuppy85]

Light grey, not that I’m biased

 

[johnyev]

Light grey, not that I’m biased

Are you a manufacturer of light grey paint, or is it what you have?

 

[Sickpuppy85]

Are you a manufacturer of light grey paint, or is it what you have?

What I have

 

[jinjahbiscuit]

I'd go with a grey, light or medium shade. Use a 2 part epoxy like Jotamastic. Various types so you'll have to research the one you need.
I recently did a large workshop floor with a one part Johnsons "heavy duty" floor paint. Rubbish. Trashed in a day.
The Jotamastic is much more durable. We used a "smart pack", wasn't cheap though at £85+ VAT for 10 litres.

 

[mike os]

Light grey, you can see stuff on it, doesn't make the place look dark

Polyurethane or epoxy... really down to preference and cost not much to choose in the real world

 

[Cobbler]

Light grey, not that I’m biased

View attachment 303843

Is that a garage or a kitchen?

 

[JMS1972]

I used the Screwfix grey paint last time it needs doing again now after 10 years. Luckily I still have a second sealed tin leftover from the last time

 

[Spark plug]

The best colour is the one that makes the circlip that’s just pinged across the workshop easier to find

 

[Maker]

Mine is "Princess grey", light grey is for peasants.