So you want your garage to look like a showroom floor?  If this is what you expect simply by painting your garage floor, think again.  Showroom floors at car dealers, specialty shops and garages are applied by professionals who use professional products.  Painting your garage floor will give your garage a facelift and may make your floor easier to clean but it will not make it look like a glossy showroom floor.  Remember to be careful, because painting your floor with a full gloss paint will make it slippery when wet.   

Preparation

Newly poured garage floors should be allowed to cure at least 60 days before any coating is applied.  Unpainted concrete should be acid etched using muratic acid.  If the surface has been previously painted, the coating should be sanded down to the bare concrete.  After etching or sanding make sure the floor is throughly rinsed with water and allowed to dry.

Materials Needed

Garage floor epoxy or paint, rollers & brushes, extension handle, painter's tape, paint tray, decorative flecks or silica sand (optional).

Steps

1. Apply the first coat of your garage floor epoxy/paint using a roller.  Let the coating dry according to the manufacturer's directions.

 

2. Apply a second coat using the same application technique.

 

3. If you chose, you can sprinkle paint flecks into the second coat of product while it is still wet.

 

4. Silica sand may also be applied to the areas of the garage that you want to make less slippery.  However, sand should not be placed where vehicles will drive. The grains of sand are abrasive to even the toughest coatings and will increase the chances of peeling.  Only spread sand in walkways where tires will not be driven.

 

5. Most garage floor paints do not require a topcoat.  Simply let your paint dry and do not drive on it for at least 72 hours, sometimes longer depending on which product is used.