"Harry Muscle" wrote:

I would like to paint the concrete floor in my crawlspace to keep the
dust down, however, the idea of etching the floor is really turning me
off the whole thing. The crawlspace has no drain and not much
ventilation, so using acids down there along with tons of water for
rinsing isn't exactly going to work well. So I'm wondering if there's
any point in painting the floor if I decided not to etch? Obviously,
I'd scrub the floor with cleaners and a wire brush to remove any loose
pieces/grease/oil etc. (not that there's much grease or oil in the
crawlspace). Or am I guaranteed 100% to have a bad paint job if I
don't etch? What exactly does the etching accomplish?

Etching has nothing to do with oil or water, it makes the concrete rough enough
for the paint to "bite".

To test for moisture, get a sheet of plastic8x8 or so and tape it all around the
edges to the floor. Let it sit for 24 hours, remove it, and see if there is a
color difference between the area covered and the adjoining area. If there is,
you have a moisture problem and the paint will likely lift. If not, paint away.

Its hard to see any benefit to "scrubbing" other than adding moisture to the
concrete. How did you get any oil or grease in a crawlsapce?