Custom Pool Decks Orange County

Does your garage floor need concrete coatings applied -- but you, the novice handyman have no clue on where to begin? The concrete floor of your Orange County based garage is regularly exposed to intense corrosion and deterioration due to road salt, oils, and other auto fluids. Coating your concrete garage floor reduces dust and makes sweeping and cleaning easier. Clear acrylic concrete coatings will protect the concrete in your garage from damage and stains. Also, these same concrete coatings can be used on concrete walks, concrete driveways, or as a primer under acrylic and polyurethane floor paints that are being used on surfaces other than concrete. You should use caution when and where you apply a concrete coating, because they cannot be applied over paint or other coatings.

In order to apply the concrete coatings yourself you will need several tools and materials: protective clothing, goggles, neoprene rubber gloves, a stiff brush and a bucket, a paintbrush, a cartridge-style respirator with organic-vapor and small-particle filters, a paint roller with extension handle and tray, medium nap roller cover, a concrete degreaser, and, of course, some concrete sealer. Usually 1/2 gallon of sealer covers approximately 100 square feet.

Before applying the concrete coatings to your concrete surface, you must clean the concrete, as it must be free of dirt, grease, and oil. To do this you should use a stiff scrub brush to apply cleaner and concrete degreaser according to the instructions on the labels of those products. Allow the solution to lie on the concrete for 15 to 20 minutes (more for stubborn stains) after you finish scrubbing. After this, you should rinse the concrete thoroughly with clear water. You may need more than one application -- possibly several, depending on how soiled your concrete floor is.

Some concrete coatings contain hazardous chemicals that are harmful to the skin and eyes and the vapors are not safe to breathe. The vast majority of concrete coatings, however, are acrylic. The best way to avoid damage to your eyes, skin, and lungs is to wear protective equipment including goggles, neoprene rubber gloves, and a respirator with both organic-vapor and solid-particle filter cartridges. During the process of coating the concrete area you must continuously ventilate the area in use. Open all doors and windows -- using a fan, even an ugly fan, would also be a great idea.

After cleaning and drying the concrete, it is time to apply the sealer coatings. You should test the sealer in an inconspicuous area before applying it. If there is any uneven density in the concrete, it may result in a light/dark appearance that you may or may not find objectionable. Using the medium-nap paint roller with the extension handle is the easiest way to apply the sealer. Start in a rear corner, and continue to work your way out of the concrete garage floor. Before doing anything else, you must allow the sealer to dry as indicated by the instructions on the sealer bottle, usually for a few hours. For a driveway or any other exposed, open air area, the procedure is essentially the same, but it is quicker to use a garden sprayer to apply the sealer if you are applying it to a large driveway. You should act with extreme caution not to over-spray onto other material due to the high risk of staining.