# I need to paint a rough concrete floor with lots of oil spots



## Fencejumper (Aug 6, 2012)

Hello. I'm new here. I have a pole barn that I converted into a rough shop about 2 or 3 years ago. A contractor framed up the bottom and poured concrete in it. They finished the surface rough with a brush. I was unable to even consider painting it at the time. I park everything in there, from lawnmowers to tractors and a lot in between. Plus I do a lot of automotive work in there. So now there are a bunch of oil stains scattered about. This concrete is like a sponge with all that oil and grease. I have no running water at all up there, so hosing it out and trying some sort of solvent or detergent is almost completely out of the question. 

Is there a strong and tough enough garage floor paint out there that will stick over all that rough concrete and those oil stains? I would love to just sweep and vacuum the thing as much as possible and then just roll something onto it. If it lasts only 5 years, great! That's better than nothing. Any suggestion would be helpful.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

I think you are wasting your money if trying to get anything to adhere to oil stains or oil-saturated concrete. You really need to be able to get in there and at least get the surface clean. 

You might call customer service for industrial coatings for Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore etc to see if they have something but I doubt it. 

Benjamin Moore's porch, floor and patio waterbased epoxy reinforced paint is would be my choice if you can get the floor cleaned.

If you are going to continue to be dripping oil and so forth on the surface you might want to look into a two part epoxy coating. You can get do it yourself kits but the pros will have mixing units in their trucks with the material at the perfect temperature and mixed without air bubbles.

As for the roughness, you can step up the nap thickness of the roller cover you use.


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## Fencejumper (Aug 6, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. I totally agree with everything you said, but that's just it--cleaning that floor considering I have no water supply anywhere close is the biggest problem, and these oil stains look like they go very deeply into that porous concrete. I've cleaned the surface of the stains well with spray cleaners like the purple stuff or Power Spray, but I'm not sure I could ever get down into the concrete and get the rest out. I was just taking a chance that somebody would be able to tell me about some sort of new "miracle" epoxy that can be painted right over deeply embedded oil stains and stick relatively well.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

If the industrial coatings folks at Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore cannot help you you might call Abatron and US Coatings. Both have great products and incredibly nice and knowledgeable customer service folks. If nothing else, maybe they can tell you something you might use to prep it all with the constraints you have?

http://www.abatron.com

http://www.uscoatingsolutions.com/concrete-paint.php


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## mazzonetv (Feb 25, 2009)

It's possible - just get ready for some work. Benjamin Moore makes a product called P83 oil and grease emulsifier. Clean the floor with that stuff - follow the directions. When you think it's clean, do it again. After it completely dries I would then apply a coat of p41 epoxy primer and two coats of P42 waterborne epoxy in whatever color you like. You'll have a good system you can drive on and keep clean. You could go up a step and apply p40 instead of p42, but much more expensive and much harder to work with- only a 20 minute pot life as opposed to 8 hours with the p42. 

Good luck


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Can you borrow or rent a truck with a water tank and pump so you can rinse the floor? You will have to with any cleaner or emulsifier.


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

Fencejumper said:


> Thanks for the reply. I totally agree with everything you said, but that's just it--cleaning that floor considering I have no water supply anywhere close is the biggest problem, and these oil stains look like they go very deeply into that porous concrete. I've cleaned the surface of the stains well with spray cleaners like the purple stuff or Power Spray, but I'm not sure I could ever get down into the concrete and get the rest out. I was just taking a chance that somebody would be able to tell me about some sort of new "miracle" epoxy that can be painted right over deeply embedded oil stains and stick relatively well.


 
A long hose and a pressure washer could work wonders on that floor.


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## mazzonetv (Feb 25, 2009)

Oops. I completely misread that part about no running water. You air going to need lots of water to clean that properly.


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## Expert Paint (Jul 24, 2012)

you could diamond grind it down or sand blast . . . but you would still have to find a way to clean all the concrete patricles/dust off the surface


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

Sherwin Williams H&C shield crete 2 part epoxy is ment for concrete surfaces that will have vehicles driven on it, as it resist hot tire pickup an d chemicals. Clean well with H&C degreaser first and apply h&c clear glaze over your finish to add extra protection. There is no need to grind, blast or etch in your situation, as your not trying to remove a previous coating and your floor is already rough as you said.


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## dannydizzan (Aug 6, 2012)

Call a local person that does this kind of work. You would be surprised how many people apply this on patios and garages as a side business. When I was going to do my patio, I weighed my options and to have it done was reasonable considering all the headache of gathering everything up to do it right.


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## LesleyBarton (Aug 8, 2012)

Look in your yellow pages or whatever you use to find numbers of local businesses.


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## Friendly (Aug 7, 2012)

BRODA All-Purpose Cleaner is a product I know that can remove oil from concrete (made in Canada by CBR Products:. It’s a water-based solution that in essence turns the oil into a soap product that will wash down the drain (it’s biodegradable). You mention lack of running water. If there is no drainage on this floor this “new solution" could be sponged up into a bucket. With a clean floor the coating can be applied.

As you have this as a working area, where you will positively speaking spend many productive hours, you may want to select a low VOC concrete floor paint. For my building projects I prefer AFM Safecoat paints. (all their least toxic coatings are Made in the USA) : Deckote is their concrete floor paint brand. As you have no water for clean up of the paint brush and roller you can soak and wrap these utensils in plastic wrap for easy clean up when you are at a water source.
Hopefully this information is helpful. I wish you much good fortune, Cheers.

http://www.cbrproducts.com/content/concrete-masonry

http://www.afmsafecoat.com/products.php?page=1


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## CaptRandy (Nov 9, 2011)

Power washer with water tank to clean. Most pro pwers have 500 gal tank water for that purpose, otherwise use crete dry something like cat litter to soak up surface oil. Spread it around sweep it up and dispose properly.


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