Basement Floor Paint

 

BRUCE: Yes, I painted my floor with an etching primer and then put paint for basement use on the floor and it chipped up.

 

TOM: OK.

 

BRUCE: What can I do to prevent this in the future?

 

TOM: Well, the best paints today for basement floors are the epoxy paints. They’re two parts. They’re a chemical cure. And so once they actually cure, they really do lock in tight to the floor surface. In this case, you’re probably going to have to strip up the paint that you have right there because you can’t put good paint over paint that’s not sticking because it’s …

 

LESLIE: Yeah, it won’t stick to it.

 

TOM: Yeah, it’s kind of like putting it on top of a Teflon surface; it’s just going to come up again. So what you’re going to have to do here, Bruce, is you’re going to have to remove the original coat of paint and then I would use an epoxy paint; it’s available from a bunch of good manufacturers: QUIKRETE makes one; Rust-Oleum makes one. Good-quality product; good process where you clean the surface then you mix the paint, you put it down, then you use a color chip which is nice because it sort of hides the dirt. And once you’re done, it cures pretty quickly. Also available for garage floors, too.

 

BRUCE: OK. Well, that answered my question.

 

TOM: Alright, Bruce. Well, good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.