Painting - Painting a Basement Floor

Hey -

I would like to paint my concrete basement floor. It is old, and beat up. It's kind of worn down in places.

Can I just clean, prime, and paint?

Or do I need to seal it?

Or, worse, do I need to patch it?

It's not crumbling, it's just... worn.

Thanks!

Clean it and then acid etch it with muriatic acid. I like 2 part epoxy garage floor paints but I would consider some of the new concrete stain products for an interesting look that won't chip off.

Clean and acid etch for sure. There's a product I have used before, I think it was called Tuff-Top, it was a red label with a rhino on the can, and I bought it at Duron. It did the job great and did not break the bank.

What's involved with that? Will this turn into more than a weekend project?

And how much is "not break the bank"?

No it will be a weekend project, a day to wash and etch, paint the next day. I really can't remember the price but I want to say $30 / gallon and I used two gallons on a two car garage floor.

Concrete is a tough one to coat, I've seen many failures over the years on concrete. Definitely clean, and acid etch. Then don't skimp on paint, you only get one shop at applying this right the first time. If its never been painted before, look into the concrete stains jeffk mentioned. If its has been painted before, then go with the epoxies.
Don't expect good advice on products from a big box store on this application. Go to a reputable paint store in your area, and inquire about appropriate products/applications.

Do consider a stain. Once painted, the floor will always need to be painted. And even the best paints will need to be redone in a few years as they will eventually chip and flake. A stain will get into the pores of the concrete.

It was painted years ago.

What is the cure time on the acid? The paint?

How bad does it smell?

I ask, because the cat likes to spend a lot of time down there... And is pretty used to having her box down there, too. So the less time she is disrupted the less likely she is to tinkle on the wife's couch!