# faux paint technique for concrete floor



## laurel diy (Nov 2, 2010)

Does anyone have any good advice about this? I would like to faux the floor to look like granite or some natural stone. Should I use special faux paint roller covers for uniformity it just use sponges or plastic bags. Also what brand/kind of paint. Thanks!


----------



## HDwetPaint (Oct 25, 2010)

Hello laurel diy,
Within the past few years concrete has really come a long way from the boring sidewalk gray stuff we normally think of to it being used in high quality counter tops, custom grill enclosures, polished sinks, decorative flooring,…ECT. There are a couple different ways that you could go about changing the look of an old concrete floor without having to do any major construction. If you have walked in a The Home Depot you most likely have noticed the polished concrete floors throughout the store. This is a fairly inexpensive option and will give the floors a natural, washable surface that can take a beating all while looking nice.
Another option which is pretty common is a concrete dye or stain. These can be applied directly to a clean concrete surface and don’t require a special roller or much prep work. Some of these semi transparent stains when applied using different sprayers, brushes, and rollers can give the concrete a natural stone look and can later be sealed to protect from staining and make clean up much easier using a concrete and masonry sealer. Another interesting way people create a faux natural stone floor using stain is to cut out “tiles” or section in the floor prior to staining it using a masonry cutting tool this gives the illusion it has been finished in natural stone.
If the concrete is in fair to poor shape and requires patching a floor paint maybe an option as well. Before anything goes over the concrete it should be cleaned and prepped using a floor primer, there are specific concrete bonding primers that are best for this type of job. Then to finish off, top coat using whatever faux technique you prefer with a high quality floor paint. These will hold up well to foot traffic and provide excellent durability. These are just a couple of the more common ways a concrete floor can be refinished, if you have any more questions regarding a particular technique or have any other ideas let us know and well be happy to help. If you get the time post a few before and after pictures I love these kinds of projects.
Jeff


----------



## laurel diy (Nov 2, 2010)

Jeff,
I appreciate the time and effort you gave to reply to my post. We have about 1000 SF of concrete to treat in some kind of way. I THINK it is untreated, and thus pretty easy to work with. It is about 6 years old I'd say. I would like to send some pictures, except that it is still completely covered with brown paper from construction. Maybe later . We have been converting our basement into an apartment for some time now, and are close to finished, except for the floor, and our occupants are moving in Dec. 1st, so I don't have much time. I was thinking of painting the floor with a faux technique, possibly using Sherwin Williams floor paint. I have, in the past, fauxed wall tile to look like marble, and it turned out looking great. Because of my lack of expertise, I thought that it sounded easier to paint the floor rather than to stain the floor or polish it, as you suggested. (We did stain/polished our sanctuary floor in our church and it turned out great, but we paid someone to do that, and I don't have the $ to pay someone). That's the story- I don't know if that helps or not. Which technique do you think 1) looks best, 2) is easiest for an amateur, 3) is fastest. I definitely appreciate your comments and am pouring over them, considering each possibility. Thanks, Laure


----------



## HDwetPaint (Oct 25, 2010)

Hello again laurel diy
Well for starters you will want to make sure you have an unfinished surface before moving onto any of the top coats. A pretty simple sure way of knowing if it had ever been coated or sealed is to drip a little water on the surface. If it soaks in its most likely either worn out or is uncoated, if the water begins to bead up or is repelled it has been coated at one point and may need to be removed. 
Now onto what type of finish you choose, really this is dependent upon the overall look you hope to achieve. Sounds like you have had good results with the marbling faux technique, this isn’t an easy paint job and if you were happy with the results you shouldn’t have any trouble with a floor stain. A semi transparent floor stain is a great option and can be used to create many different effects much like a faux finish. I had mentioned some people go for the natural tile look, some prefer a straight stain color, some go with a marbled look…ect. the options go on and on and I really do suggest you do a little searching around the internet at some different techniques before making your final decision. 

here are a few examples of semi transparent stained concrete;














The reason I’m leaning more towards a stain is when prepped properly and even sealed they can hold up longer than painted concrete while giving it a natural look which can be harder to achieve using paints. Again let me know what you decide to do and if you have any questions I’ll do my best to help.


----------

