Orson Cart wrote:
On Wed, 06 Sep 2006 08:53:32 +0100, Bookworm wrote:

[snip]

Do not apply stabilisation solution to the floor before painting it.
Stabilisation solutions are meant to arrest 'dusting' of the floor. It
will also slightly act as a waterproofing which will prevent any
penetration of 'floor paint' or a proper coating to the surface. The
Floor paint or an epoxy coating will lift.

Acid etching is mostly only used on new concrete floors to get rid of
the 'laitance' which is the weak layer of cement powder brought to the
surface of the concrete during trowelling or working the concrete. It
consists of using strong acid, Hydrochloric, Nitric etc etc to
neutralise the alkaline cement, break it up and the resultant liquids
have to be rinsed away completely or the coating will disbond.

Older concrete is probably best treated by a powerful jet wash and
allowed to dry thoroughly and I mean thoroughly probaby 2 weeks or more
dependant on temperature and humidity.

If the floor is intended to take a fair bollocking consider using Epoxy
Resin rather than cheap floor Paint from the sheds.

Some of the best info will be found on the Watco website. I do not work
for Watco but have worked in the industry for many years.


Thanks for your reply, and the warning about stabilisation solutions. And
I'm exploring the Watco website as we speak...

The floor is new, laid 2-3 months ago, and my problem is all the fine
dust/powder. So should I acid etch it before painting? Or can I get away
with brushing it thoroughly and then painting? Or could I just stabilise
it and forget the paint? As I say, I'm mainly concerned about the dust -
I'm not bothered about the floor's appearance.

So I guess I've just redefined the question - how do I best avoid/suppress
the dust on a newish (2-3 months) concrete floor?

Sorry for all the questions - I'm venturing into unexplored territory...

Cheers,

--
Steve

Acid etch before painting. If you put coating on top of 'laitance' it
will just peel.

Some of the Water Based Epoxy Floor paints are excellent as long as you
do not want to run cars etc over them.

You can use dustproofers/concrete surface sealants/hardeners but if you
do you will be stuck with the grey of the concrete because you will
never be able to paint the floor.