Paint a Concrete Floor

This entry and mudroom walkthrough stays in the order the work happens.

For a striking transformation, come learn how to paint concrete floors. It’s memorable the difference that some paint and elbow grease can make!

Complete your project with a painted pallet porch sign, a handmade mudroom cubby storage system, and some porch and patio decor options.

by Bekah of Country Mouse Tales

Hi! I am thrilled to share how to paint a concrete floor! Here’s a before and after of my concrete mudroom floor:

Painted Concrete mudroom Floor Before And After

So much better, right?!? Here’s the process for how to paint a concrete floor:

Step 1. Clean and Etch

Our first step was giving it a good scrub down, followed by etching. You need to etch the concrete to give the porch or concrete paint a good surface to adhere to. This keeps the paint from flaking off immediately. I used a long-handled shop broom to scrub the floor. Directions vary from product to product, so follow the directions for the cleaner you choose. We used Valspar Fast Prep, which is a premixed degreaser and etcher in one.

preparing a concrete floor for painting by scrubbing and etching

Step 2: Paint first color of concrete floor paint

After allowing our floors to completely dry, I put a coat of pure white porch/concrete paint on all of the concrete surfaces. Don’t bother with a paint tray for this, I just poured it out of the bucket as I went, then rolled it smooth.

Step 3: Draw your pattern and tape the lines

After waiting for the paint to cure (I only waited two days, but I should have given it more time. I ended up causing myself more work! Check the directions on your can of concrete paint), draw your lines using a pencil, a level, and a tape measure. I started on the far wall, and measured the starting lines for the points of my diamonds. My diamonds are 22 inches long, so I marked each spot. After that, it was simply a matter of measuring and drawing. This is tedious! Then, on to taping. I used Frogtape for delicate surfaces, and I put my tape on the outside edge of only the diamonds that I was planning to paint gray. I used a putty knife held at an angle to give myself a good clean edge when I tore my tape off.

tape design to paint a concrete mudroom floor

Step 4: Paint second color of concrete floor paint

I used a foam roller to get a nice even coat of my gray paint (the color is New Concrete by Valspar). I gave the gray diamonds two coats each and used a paint brush to do the edges next to the tape. While my paint was still wet, I started pulling off the tape. Remember how I said two days curing time wasn’t enough? This is why! I had to go back with a paint brush and touch up ALL the edges. Frustrating!

let your painted concrete floor cure properly

In the end, painting the concrete floor was well fitted for this space and we love it! ————————————————————————————————– If you’ve got a concrete surface to paint, let us know how it goes!

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