Painted Garages

[spasmo]

So, I have been trying to clean out the garage today. Then I started looking at the walls. They are just the drywall and tape, no color.

Anyone here paint their garage? If so, what color and kind of paint. Did you do anything fancy? Do you have pictures? Did you paint the ceiling too? Did you have to primer it? If not, how many coats did it take? I was thinking of using some Kilz first.

I have left over bright purple and bright green paint but I think Scutter would have a fit. Actually, I was thinking of using a Gray color.

I've heard some people use the cheapest paint they can get but then I was thinking that you'll be going in and out of there very frequently so why wouldn't you use the good paint that you'd use in the house.

I was thinking of using exterior paint though instead of interior because of more moisture. For example; parking your wet car in the garage. Not sure if that would matter though.

I was wondering if I should paint my peg board too.

Then I started thinking about the floors. What have any of you done with your flooring in the garage?

 

[glock34]

painting the garage

not an expert but...finishing up a paint job on my Garage. It was not painted when we bought the house so the wall set for 15+ years without paint. I am doing White on Walls and Ceiling to make it Brighter. What a difference. Make sure you put on primer first especially on the pegboard. I did the floor with the epoxy paint Grey)and that looks great. I will try to throw up some pictures when I get done.

Good luck

 

[mikea46996]

OMG your way too good for Scutter, dump him and marry me!!!!!

Any woman who would want to paint the floor(I used Duplicolor 2-part epoxy with resin chips by the way) and inside of my garage is a keeper, plus you like guns!!!!!!

Do you have a sister????

Back to your garage..... Paint the lower half a dark color so it doesn't show dirt and hand prints, scuffs, etc.... Then paint the ceiling and top half of the walls a light color so it disperses the light better.

 

[robbran144]

we did the firehouse floor (concrete) in the epoxy grey like glock34 said,it turned out perdy nice even with the paint flakes they give you to put down....make sure to use the epoxy and not the cheap stuff though.

 

[IndyBeerman]

I've heard some people use the cheapest paint they can get but then I was thinking that you'll be going in and out of there very frequently so why wouldn't you use the good paint that you'd use in the house.

I was thinking of using exterior paint though instead of interior because of more moisture. For example; parking your wet car in the garage. Not sure if that would matter though.

I was wondering if I should paint my peg board too.

Then I started thinking about the floors. What have any of you done with your flooring in the garage?

When I moved into our house the garage was a sort of a beige antique white interior paint, and was horrible because it just did not seem bright enough in there. Repainted it with a low grade interior gloss white in 5 gallon buckets for better light reflectivity, it looked as if I doubled the lights, it just seemed so much brighter. Granted it will show dirt, but it's a garage, not a living room.

Moisture has not been a problem for me, and we have 2 SUV's that bring in a lot of packed snow, I just make sure to squeegee the water out after it has melted off the vehicles.

Pegboard, NO, Scutter will thank you for that because paint does not adhere to pegboard very good and will come off on any tools or items hung on it.

Garage floor, well there are several kinds of epoxy paints that are very good, one particular has the color chips in it (brand names escapes me right now) that my F.I.L. has on his floor that is great and I plan on doing that ASAP when my wife is employed again. Not only will this prevent staining of the garage floor with oil and grease, it will help keep it from collecting moisture in rainy and snowy conditions, and road salt will hasten the deterioration of concrete.

Just my 's worth.

 

[VUPDblue]

I knew when I bought my house that the garage was going to be my "man cave". I used Rust Oleum Epoxy Shield on the floor, gray in color with black and white and blue chips. I lined the entire garage with bead-board painted the same color gray as the floor. I trimmed the base with 1x6 lumber, painted gloss black (so I could wash it off). I trimmed the ceiling with 1x4 lumber painted white. The ceiling was already finished (drywalled). It's a darn nice place to hang out, and it keeps clean easily enough. I only use it for parking in the winter, the rest of the time it's all mine!!!!

 

[Vlad the Impaler]

I've had both finished and unfinished garages across 5 houses. I much prefer finished and finished the second one myself. The house I'm in now came with afinished garage including textured ceiling just like the rest of the house. That I could do without, as it makes knoking down cobwebs harder.
As you describe, sheetrocked and mudded, there's not much else to do besides prime and paint. You'll want to finish mud if it's only a rough job now. Yes, you should prime. You don't have to spend big money on primer, but I wouldn't choose a low dollar top coat. Look at consumer reports (local library), they rate paints every year. Get one that's good for scrubbing. I wouldn't do exterior paint. If you are certain that the lower portions of teh walls will be splashed and get stained, you may want to put some clading, like a synthetic bead-board around the bottom 3'.
IMHO, rent a airless spray paint rig and get your prime done one evening and go back with your top coat the next morning. One day rental, and you will never go back to a roller for a big job.
Good luck!

 

[Turn Key]

Great topic!

This has been on my to - do list for years.

Our garage is attached and built in 1960. In 1989 a crew of painters come through and they gave it a coat of a beige commercial interior paint. I plan to Kiltz prime it all then spray it again in a bright white.

My question is with the floor. There are some major concrete chipped out spots and want to know what to use to fill these holes with prior to applying the epoxy paint to the floor? The deepest hole is no more than an inch deep.

TK

 

[melensdad]

I've had both finished and unfinished garages across 5 houses. I much prefer finished and finished the second one myself.

AGREED! The garage attached to my house is not painted, but when I built the garage for my toy cars I primed and painted it, air conditioned it, put in a 4 post car hoist, air compressor, welder, etc, etc. Its a pleasure to be out there!!!

 

[spasmo]

Can you or do you need to clean dry wall before you paint it? I think I have decided on painting it two different colors: light gray on the top and a darker one on the bottom. I may even put a baseboard around the top and bottom but haven't decided that yet.

 

[barber613]

Shoot the walls and ceiling with a good white primer and forget about it.

 

[6birds]

I shot the garage with primer and two coats of decent interior paint and I'm glad I did.
Now when the walls have to be washed or scrubbed down, it wears well and still looks good. The white really reflects the lights, which is good for the motorcycle and gun stock addictions I work on.

With a empty garage and a sprayer, it only took 15-20 minutes for each coat, with a half hour between each coat for drying.

 

[Rookie]

Is the drywall finished (taped, bedded, and sanded)? If so, I would brush the walls down with a broom, prime, and apply two coats of paint. Primer will keep the walls from eating all of your paint, and it will seal any stains.

As for the floor, clean it with muriatic acid before you epoxy it.

 

[tk6968]

My garage was bare drywall as well and had been that way for several year. I bought a 5 gallon bucket of white semi gloss from Home Depot, had it tinted a very pale grey, and rolled on 2 coats. Looks great and much more light .

 

[calcot7]

You need to make sure that the concrete floor hasn't had a sealer applied. If it has you will need to etch the floor with a dilute mixture of muratic acid and water before applying the epoxy. Also make sure the floor has dried thuroughly. You can test for sealer by dripping water on the floor and see if it either beads or soaks into the concrete. If the concrete will absorb the water, it hasn't been sealed, or the sealer has worn off, and you are good to go.