# Painting concrete driveway



## Laurence (May 27, 2011)

Has anyone painted their driveway? If so what do you like and not like about it? Has it been protected from marks as promised by paint?


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

H[C solid concrete stain will work on a drivewy. It can be found at Sherwin Williams. There is no paint that will withstand hot tire pickup, only epoxies and stains


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## Laurence (May 27, 2011)

I had a look at H&C and as you have stated they do not promise any resistance to Tyre marks. 

Found one product CONCRESHIELD X that promises 'resistance against tyre marks" but not sure if that is just clever marketing. Have you heard of this product/used it?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Stained concrete can look nice if done by a pro with experience and familiarity with what to expect and how to work with it. I don't see staining something so expansive as a driveway a DIY project. Too much can go wrong.

If you wanted a glossier look or something? You could polish the concrete after it is stained. 

I would never paint a driveway even with something claiming resistance to tire marks. First off, "resistance" becomes very subjective in such language? 

I guess a sprayed on epoxy finish with products intended for outdoor use could work but the cost might be prohibitive. And at the end of the day a drive goes through lots of temp and humidity changes, is going to crack and the epoxy layer will fracture along with it. The UV rays will bleach color from just about anything over time. It will be difficult to ever match up a repair unless you stick with basic color and pattern. I think that much resin in a natural landscape might look out of place as well. 

Years ago my color consulting company did a fair amount of work for an auto dealership and I specified good old porch and floor paint for sections of concrete that were going to display cars outside the showroom. Worked out fine and we just assumed we would have to touch up or repaint the sections periodically. It was not subjected to hot tires, engines, transmissions and so forth though. 

You might go online and explore some of the concrete finishing sites. Many have contractor locating services and perhaps a consult with someone in your area would be a good idea before you get too far into this. I should think a responsible contractor would guide you through how much of a project like this you should try to handle on your own?


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

The problem with painting a concrete driveway is legion. Hot tires, tire marks, slippery surface, gets scuffed up by snow shovels, I could go on and on. As HPNY and sdsester stated, concrete stain would be the way to go. It will still get marked up but will last longer than paint on concrete.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

It would probably hard to justify the cost but if you polished the concrete after staining you would have a very nice, low maintenance surface. I have seen some drop dead gorgeous polished interior concrete floors. Owners seem to love the zilch maintenance. 

At the end of the day you are still going to end up with just a driveway. How much do you want to sink into this project?


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## strech65 (Apr 30, 2015)

is there a way to use solvent or oil base paint over existing water base paint on a driveway


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