Way off topic but I know there is a wealth of knowledge in these forums.
My garage does not have drains so in the winter the snow melts off the car and goes into the house. We haven’t parked a car in the garage for over 35 years. It is only used for storage.
I want to paint the garage floor but am too lazy and poor to etch the concrete and prime it.
I have seen floor paint that has primer with it. Is this any good or is it a waste of time?
Again, think of this as a basement floor not a garage floor.
I considered painting my garage, but I have too much stuff to do that without moving a LOT of things. There are also the pretty awful fumes to work with.
I also considered porcelain tile, which looks terrific and can withstand vehicle traffic. But I don't think I have the energy to tackle such a project. I have never tiled that large of a space either, and there is the potential to mess up on that large of an area and it looks awful.
There were other things like a simple car-sized floor mat, but I wanted something a bit nicer.
I settled on those plastic tiles (Racedeck is one brand, I used Garagedeck) that click together. There are solid and vented ones, I went with solid. They were relatively inexpensive, super easy to install, and look great. They have held up fine, but I can't weld in the garage anymore for fear of melting the tiles. They seem to keep the concrete dry, and they are warm underfoot. Even when it is well below zero, you can walk on them in stocking feet without being too uncomfortable. I paid $1300 for enough to do my 24x24 garage. I put them down by myself in a total of a couple hours, which offsets the price a bit.
I do have some very cheap carpet mats I use to absorb the bulk water if it is very snowy or muddy or whatever. I just shake them out in the Spring. Those help a lot. It also is good for the occasional fluid drips. Like this, but I didn't pay anywhere near this price. Garage Mat
The other thing I did was put a minisplit in the garage, that is one of the top 5 home improvement things I have ever done in my lifetime. You can dry the floor in the winter with the heat, you can work on stuff in the summer without having heatstroke, and so on. They are easy to install, and and old mechanic like yourself (if I recall what you have said in the past) can put one in without any real effort in a weekend. I really only run it a few times in the winter when the floor is really wet, the water or ice chunks gets swept out with a broom for the most part. Only running the heat to dry the floor when really necessary doesn't kill my electric bill too much.
I had my garage floor resurfaced with a gray base paint, flakes on top and then a clear coat by professionals. Flakes are used to provide traction. That can be expensive but the big box stores also sell DIY kits.
The small section of the garage concrete that extends outside of the garage to the driveway was only painted gray and has no flakes. This section gets very slippery when wet so I wanted to bring this up as painting might make your floor slippery.
Sherwin Williams sells specific floor paint as do the box stores. You might speak to someone about it becoming slippery if done without some sort of flake.
I did a polyaspartic coating with flakes about 3 years ago on my garage floor here in Ontario, Canada and I’m still loving it—especially with our charming mix of snow, salt, and slush every winter. It’s held up great, looks sharp, and actually makes the garage feel more like part of the house than a forgotten concrete cave.
If your garage is more “indoor storage unit” than “carport,” those all-in-one paint+primer products can work for light-duty use. Just keep in mind—they’re not exactly built for the long haul. If the prep isn’t spot-on, they can peel faster than a sunburn in July. (Been there, cursed that, redid it.)
If you want something tougher but less commitment than full epoxy or polyaspartic, a 1-part epoxy acrylic is a solid middle ground. Easier to apply, better durability, and it won’t hate you come February. My brother-in-law used it in their basement laundry room—and it’s outlasted the marriage.
Good luck—and may your floor stay classy and firmly attached!
