Paint A Concrete Floor, step by step

Our recent sunroom floor staining debacle led us away from semi-transparent floor finishes (which are fabulous for raw concrete but do not work as well over previously stained concrete) and towards solid floor treatments that are yummy and glossy and opaque. So here is how we got it done.

We swiftly learned that oil-based porch and floor paint was the best candidate for the room (since latex based floor paints cannot bond to a previously stained concrete surface) and at Lowe’s we happily discovered Valspar’s High Performance Oil-Based Porch & Floor Paint in a ideal chocolate brown color called Brownstone (here is an affiliate link to it over on Amazon if you cannot find it in stores).

We’d been longing for a rich brown tone to tie into the adjoining room’s hardwood flooring, and Brownstone was a match made in floor paint heaven. Since the stuff is “extremely durable and resists scuffing while retaining its high gloss appearance” it was the ideal solution for our high traffic sunroom. And not only is it strong for concrete floors, it can also be used on wood floors and primed metal so it is certainly something to keep in mind for any of the floors in your home that have seen better days.

So without further ado, we bring you the plain five step walkthrough to painting your floor:

Step 1: Ensure that the floor is squeaky clean. This can be accomplished by thoroughly vacuuming and then going over your floor with a mildly soapy wet rag and waiting for the floor to dry fully before moving onto the next step. Additionally, if you are painting a wood floor, any splintered or rough parts should be sanded or patched before moving on to the painting process.

Step 2: Edge the perimeter of the whole floor (about 4 inches or so) with a good quality brush that will not leave any bristles behind. Oil based paint is deliciously glossy, which can makes things like errant paintbrush bristles stuck to the floor more obvious than a matte floor finish would.

Step 3: Use a paint roller with an extended pole attachment to coat the whole floor with one coat of paint. Roll in long even strokes and make a “w” pattern on the floor with the roller to eliminate any obvious paint globs from the side of the roller. Do not forget to be smart about painting yourself out of the room as oil paint takes a looong time to dry before you can walk on it again.

Step 4: If you are lucky, one coat of paint will do the trick. In our sunroom it would have except that we missed a couple of teeny slivers of the floor and hoped to go over the whole thing again for good measure and a uniform finish. You must wait at least a full 24 hours before applying a second coat, and even after 24 hours you may notice that your first coat is not fully dry (you may see subtle footprints as you walk across the floor) but you can proceed with your second coat since it’ll gloss over everything and leave it looking shiny and ideal again.

Step 5: Wait at least 6 full days to walk on your new floor. It may feel like torture, but it is better to be safe than sorry. And after nearly a week of avoiding the space, you will be especially excited to move in all of your furniture and make yourself at home. It should be noted that oil-paint is especially toxic and especially stiiinky, so keeping a ceiling fan going and the windows open for the full 6 days is a smart idea (which means implementing that plan before the second coat since you will not have access to the room afterwards).

So there you have it, a plain five step process to fantastic new flooring. Here is ours looking all glossy and fabulous (like melted chocolate, I tell ya). We enjoy the rich, uniform tone and the luxe sheen, and we have both noticed that the room looks a whole lot more “wrapped up” with the newly painted floor.

We also enjoy how it ties in with the dark brown window sashes around the whole room, and makes our white furniture pop even more than it did against our old orangey-gold floor.

And perhaps the most exciting thing of all is how the newly painted sunroom floor so perfectly ties into our existing hardwood floor in the adjoining laundry nook and den. It is an nearly seamless transition which makes the sunroom seem a lot more cohesive (it no longer screams “add-on”) thanks to the uniform floor color and especially luxe sheen.

We hope our fast and furious floor painting walkthrough has been of assist. And of course feel free to send us your floor painting before and afters (we eat that stuff for breakfast). Glad rolling!

PS: If you want to learn how to simply stain your concrete floor, we have a full walkthrough for using a semi-transparent stain.

PPS: You can also see how we later brought in a decorative stencil with paint to this floor to add even more interest!