Garage Floor Coating

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Ron:
I do think you are correct. The stain I used, if my memory serves, was not intended for application over existing coated or painted floors. It does soak in and stain the cement (ie: not a glossy look) and leaves surface with near original traction.

The mason told me that with cement garage floors, the big culprit is moisture. He warned me that any surface sealing type of coating will act poorly if the cement slab is or can become wet or soaked due to bad drainage or water infiltration from below the slab. Especially in climates with thermal hot and cold cycles (like in New England).

Over time, on hot days, the water will try to evaporate and will lift (from below) the coating on the cement. On cold days the cement will contract causing microscopic surface cracks on the puckering sealant. Additionally the slab will "sweat" when warm air condenses over the cold slab.

I guess all these things are not good for a surface sealant. This is why he told me to try the stain after degreasing it with Dawn. He mentioned steam cleaning the cement surface if I was really looking for a good long lasting surface but I did not do that. I used the Dawn with hot water and a stiff deck brush from my old boat to really clean the cement.

Perhaps a steam cleaner would be the way to take off old paint. that with a power washer would probably really do the trick.