sealing concrete floor

[8nrider]

the floor is toasty, the ping pong table is up. the dust is flying!! any advise on what to use to seal the slab w a water base product. the kids bedroom is above, and the temps are not letting me open any doors. i am thinking a clear instead of a stain. i hate to see it start peeling in 3 months. anyone in this well of experience have any advice it would be appreciated. thank you!

 

[bowsky64x]

I spent months trying to find a product to seal my powersports shop floor. i used a densifyer first that helped but ended up using minwax high gloss oil based polyurethane. it is very durable and adheres well
. as far as smell you could just use their water based poly. I used oil based for chemical resitance. jsut my 2 cents. also if you use a sealer make sure it will not repel any new covings you may want to use in the future or you will be very unhappy!

 

[pybyr]

There are special primers intended especially for concrete-- you'll want to use one of those (and buy the best you can), then the finish coat. I used that (forget the make) and the area that I painted is free of problems 9 years later.

 

[in hot water]

You are looking for an odor free product? You might try some of the shops that sell concrete counter top sealers. Those products are non toxic for food contact but I don't know about smell. I used a wax product on my bathroom concrete top, but it does need to be re-sealed occasionally.

Most of the sealers soak right into the concrete, no need to worry about peeling. I had to double coat my shop with Thompson Water seal to get a good finish.

Don't make it too hard and glossy as they can be very slippery.

hr

 

[Frozen Canuck]

As with all painting, staining, priming, sealing etc. Preparation is 90% of the battle.

Clean conrete floor to the best of your ability, vacuum, scrape, sand, then vacuum again.

If you get to the point where you say/think you could drop your lunch on the floor & still be able to eat it, you are where you need to be.

If you want this project to last do the following steps.

After the floor is clean, use a 10% muriatic acid solution in a bucket you dont intend to reuse in your house, a suitable scrub brush (one than wont dissolve or lose its bristles in the solution) & a long handle for the brush. Scrub the floor with the solution. Every inch of it. Wear eye protection & use caution (acid burns). As you are doing this you should notice small bubbles forming on the surface of the concrete (dont worry thats supposed to happen). The muriatic acid is neutralizing the chemical reaction in the concrete (alkaline). Allow to dry. This part of the process smells bad & the fumes may irritate your eyes/nose. If you get any solution on your skin it will burn, wash with water. Remember eye protection.

OK that part is done, now you need to neutralize the acid, plain water this time. Use a brush again as the acid on the surface of the concrete may dissolve your mop. Once again brush every inch of the floor. Allow to dry.

Vacuum the floor again. I know you did that, trust me you missed some, plus the process creates a fine dust that needs to be removed after it is neutralized.

OK now your ready for a sealer coat. You will need a paint roller, rough surface roller = longer pile height & handle (no paint tray). In the case you described above I would use a Latex Acrylic Concrete Sealer. Next to odorless product. Pour (puddle) the sealer onto the floor 2-3 cups at a time, until you get the hang of it then you can pour out more at a time. Roll out the puddle evenly, then repeat. Expect/plan/prepare to use more of this product per square foot, you should be putting it on quite thick in comparison to paint as this product is designed to soak into the concrete. As long as you are careful to roll over any runs/ridges it is hard to put this product on too thick. Coat entire floor evenly. Allow to dry.

After the sealer has dried inspect for even shine/sheen, this is a good visual indicator of the right amount of product used over the entire area. If you have any dull areas you can coat them again as the pores of the concrete are probably still open giving you the difference in shine/sheen. Even shine/sheen usually means even seal coat.

In some cases depending on the type/quality/age of the concrete as well as the quality of the concrete finish/finisher. You may require two or more coats to get a proper seal of the floor.

Once the floor is sealed & dried, you can apply any other floor covering you desire.

Hope this helps.

 

[djblech]

I agree with everything Frozen Canuck said. The only thing I would add is talk to your local ready mix plant. They usually carry products designed for concrete. My dad did the muriatic acid thing and it still looks good 15 yrs later.
Doug