What to use to seal garage floor?

[gonesurfing]

I guess my choices are Thompson's Water seal or similar concrete product OR garage floor paint. I need it to resist auto chemicals and water. I've already got a lot of damage from a leaky back door, and some spilled brake fluid. The brake fluid pitted and cracked the concrete amazingly fast!

Has anyone had good luck with either? The floor paint will look better, but you have to strip, etch, prime, and paint. That's a lot of work.

 

[mechtech2]

Yes, a lot of work.
But if you don't follow the sequence, the job will only look good for a few weeks, and will not stand up to traffic or fluids spilled on it.
There are one part and two part epoxy sealers, and will work well when used according to directions. Cleaning and etching does not have to be perfect, but the substrate is critical for the stuff to stick. It also can take a few weeks or more to really cure and get hard.

 

[dwendt44]

I've seen 'U coat it' advertised. It's a DIY kit.
Not cheap.

 

[LAGA]

I have been a carpenter foreman for concrete companies for 30 years and have poured hundreds of garage floors. Four years ago when I replaced my own garage, I used Rustoleum commercial floor covering. They make two grades, commercial which is solvent based and residential which is water based. You can get the commercial at Home Depot. Surface prep is very important , follow the instructions. Instead of the paint chips that come with the kit I used silica sand sprinkled on the floor for a non slip surface. It has taken a lot of abuse in the last four years and is still holding up good.

 

[Merkava_4]

I found out by accident that Armor-All makes an excellent concrete sealer. I was spraying Armor-All on the vinyl perimeter of a carpeted floor mat while the mat was sitting on my concrete driveway. Now whenever I go to water down the driveway, there's always an outline of a rectangle that never allows water to soak into.