Best way to redo concrete floor finish?
Question:A few days after I moved into my new-to-me house, my new washing machine was installed wrong and promptly flooded the basement. About half the paint bubbled off the floor leaving a pretty wretched-looking floor. Also, there are some cracks in the concrete.
What's the best way to get this floor ready for repainting (removing the old ruined paint) and patch the cracks?
Answers:
First of all i doubt you want to be using a pressure washer in your basement. Second if the concrete floor is old or stained or has moisture under it then it does not matter what kind of paint you use it will not bond !! The best way to correct the ptoblem is to scrape off what you can,then acid wash the floorto clean it and scour it so the paint will bond.You can buy muriatic acid from any paint store. Just be sure to wear eye protection,and gloves. Mix it with water 50/50 and scrub the floor with a stiff acid brush. ( there will be some fumes so open a window and try not to breath them but they are very short lived ) once you have scrubbed the floor with acid (which is not as bad as it sounds if you are just a little careful ) Rinse it with a lot of water to neutralize the acid and then let the floor dry for at least 2 days. Any paint left on the floor after you have washed and scraped with acid can be simply painted over as is is well bonded Patch the cracks buy forcing in an expanding grout (It expands rather than shrinking as it sets ) with the heel of your gloved hand . As it sets (drys ) use a putty knife to scrape it level and smooth it out. (remmber that it will expand so you will have to check it every hour or so for a few hours to be sure it does not hump out of the cracks. wait a couple more days for everything to dry and paint with a good quality concrete paint. Latex is best as it will allow the concrete to breath a bit.letting moisture out instead of trapping it and making it bubble again. Yes if you dont like the acid idea you can use a grinder with a wire wheel to clean the floor and it WILL take off the old paint and make a good surface for paint but it is very hard boring work that will create a LOT of dust that will migrate through the whole house.
Yes removing the old to an extent. Just remove the old loose bubbled paint
rent a power wash. It will remove all of the old paint. You can patch the cracks but they will always be visible.You may want to repaint.
I have been in this situation, this is what you have to do- scrape all the loose paint and clean up the floor as best as you can . Now depends what you want to do , I had a laminate floor installed ,So much better. If you want to paint you need oil based paint not water based paint. that is why your floor bubbled. You will sometimes get oil based bubbling but not as bad it should take probably 3 coats let dry in between. the best solution I think is to go for the laminate, Buy the cheap stuff at your local hardware store.
There are actually a lot of options. It just depends on the kind of money you want to spend and what you are using the room for. Removal of the old paint can be achieved rather easily using a variety of methods. It really depends on the type of sealer used on the floor. Some sealers are much easier to remove chemically and others really require a more abrasive approach. After this is removed, you may want to look at acid stains, stamped concrete overlays, or a combination of the two. It really depends on what you are trying to achieve with your basement. There are great 100% solid epoxy crack fillers out there. You can widen these cracks with a crack chaser blade and fill with this epoxy prior to placing any coatings. Good luck
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