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My experience is in more commercial parking garage applications. These included siloxane penetrating sealers and urethane or epoxy traffic bearing coatings (TBC).
Siloxane sealers are clear penetrating sealers that seal the pores of concrete in an effort to prevent water penetration and resultant corrosion of reinforcing steel in the concrete. These will slightly darken the concrete and leave a shiny surface. The shine and protection wears off over time (2-4 years depending upon traffic). It sounds like you are looking for a traffic bearing coating.
TBC are usually urethane or epoxy coatings applied in 2-3 coats. These coatings are like paint but bond better to concrete and are slightly elastomeric so that they can bridge cracks up to 1/16" wide (think credit card thickness) and move with any shifting of the slab. TBC can be applied with a sand-like aggregate to provide additional traction. For a residential garage application, I would probably go with 2 coats without the sand aggregate for a smooth finish.
The most important step in a coating job is substrate preparation. The exising concrete has to be clean, dry, and free of oils and residue and sound. Unsound concrete (spalls and flaking) must be removed and any spalls (potholes) filled. Any cracks greater than 1/16" should be routed and sealed (use a compatible sealant!). At a minimum, the concrete should be scrubbed and power washed and allowed to dry. Best would be to procure a "shot blast" machine that will actually remove the upper most surface of the concrete. These are walk-behind machines that scour probably a 10-12" wide path. They cannot get competely into corners and such, but corners are typically pretty clean to begin with. Check your local rent-a-center.
After prepping the substrate, the coating application is very straight forward. Simply measure the amount to cover the area (say 1 gal per x-amount of square feet), pour it out and push it around with a rubber squeegee. Remember to use the pin-type shoe pads that will allow you to walk on the stuff wet without leaving footprints. Allow the first coat to cure (follow manufacturers recommendations) and apply second (and third - if required) coats.
I personnally would go with a urethane since I am sensitized to epoxy resins. Also check and try to get a low VOC (volitile organic compounds) type. The low-VOC will have fewer vapors to offend your wife/kids/neighbors.
There are other paints and such available, but a commercial grade traffic bearing coating engineered and tested for these applications would be my choice.
If you have any questions, you might consider calling a contractor - usually guys who do sealant (building exterior) work or specialize in parking garage repair. You might get them to come out and do the slab prep for pretty cheap.
Best of luck,
Chris
posted by 68.164.255...
, Thu, 3 Jun 2004 14:03:04
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