How Often Should I Repaint A Garage Floor?

Repainting a garage floor is a time-consuming process, which every garage owner tries to avoid for as long as possible. However, waiting too long can lead to the paint losing its protective properties, thus resulting in floor damage. If you keep an approximate repainting schedule in mind, you can avoid costly garage floor repairs. How do you determine how often to repaint your garage floor? The frequency of repainting depends on many factors, such as the intensity of traffic, risk of chemical and petrol spills, exposure to UV rays, moisture, etc. You may need to repaint heavily used garage floors once a year. Meanwhile, a standard household garage floor can last without repainting for several years. The longevity of a garage floor coating depends on:

• Surface preparation before painting - repair cracks, etched and then cleaned.
• Quality of the previous coating - new paint lasts longer if the old one isn’t in dire straits when you repaint.
• Quality and type of paint– oil-based paint lasts longer than water-based paint.
• Amount of sun exposure - if your garage floor is exposed to direct sunlight, you will need to repaint it more frequently due to colour fade.
• Maintenance – paint lasts longer if you keep the floor clean. If you don’t remove dirt and chemicals, they sink into the paint and damage it.
• Number of coats – the more coats applied the longer the coating will last.

In order to figure out if it’s time to repaint the garage floor, perform a visual inspection every month or so. You will know that the floor needs repainting if you see:

Blistering

If the paint starts to blister, it’s time to repaint the floor. Blistering is caused by moisture trapped under the coating. This could happen if you didn’t allow the previous paint to dry properly or if there isn’t sufficient ventilation in the garage.

Chalking

Chalking happens due to UV ray exposure this more apparent with Two Pack Epoxy products.

Cracking

Cracks in the paintwork is usually caused by the movement in the concrete, not necessarily the paint itself.

Peeling

Peeling occurs when the top coat is rejected by the substrate or under coat. This happens when top coat and under coat are incompatible, or when the surface isn’t prepared correctly.

Surface Damage

If the floor becomes damaged, the paint coating is also likely to be compromised. Repair the floor, then repaint the damaged area. Depending on the size of the damage, you may need to repaint the entire surface. At TA Paints, we provide the right paint and tools to ensure your garage floor paint lasts as long as possible. Visit our online store to place an order. You can also find more information about painting methods and how to avoid defects in our free Ultimate Floor Paint Guide.