Painting existing concrete driveway

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by Daydreamer, 17th Jul, 2016.

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  1. Daydreamer

    Daydreamer Well-Known Member

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    What is the best way to add colour to plain old concrete foot path and driveway?
    What is the difference between painting it vs. coloured sealer approach?

    I'm aware of well regarded paint brands like Dulux or Taubmans, but Bunnings tells me
    these brands don't do concrete driveway paint, and instead only one is Berger Jet Dry.
    How has people's experience been with Berger paint on concrete floor and durability.
    How long does such paint generally last on a reasonable foot traffic area?

    I don't mind re-painting every 10 years but different if it is similar to oiling a timber deck every year or two !!
    Thanks.
     
  2. Propertunity

    Propertunity Well-Known Member

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    Berger do it and White Knight do one as well. Make sure you use oil based NOT water based (which does not last). It will take foot traffic OK for some time but car traffic for only a few years at best before needing to be touched up.
     
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  3. 158

    158 Well-Known Member

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    And you believe someone behind the counter at Bunnings? :rolleyes:

    Dulux Durebuild STE is the perfect paint in this scenario, as is Jotun Jotacote 605, or even International Interzone 954 or Amerlock 400.

    There is more paint out there than Bunnings recommended - they just don't know the real vastness of products out there.

    Its like going to a Financial Planner wanting to invest - they only know their products and cant give an all inclusive opinion because they only have their box of goodies.

    pinkboy
     
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  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    I've had old warehouse floors done in epoxy before. Wears well.
     
  5. Daydreamer

    Daydreamer Well-Known Member

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    I gather that these are all epoxy based paints. Where do you buy them from then? I guess for the Dulux, I can get it directly from the Dulux store? Do they need 2 coats?

    Are they available in a wide range of colours? For Dulux, can I get it colour matched to pretty much any Dulux colour?

    I have read some poor reviews of Berger paint and that despite following the application instructions, some people have found the paint lifting off in garage floor along tyre tracks within months of application.
     
  6. drg86

    drg86 Well-Known Member

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    I'm going for a oil based sealer in charcoal. Just had to wait for the leaves to stop falling off the trees so I can finish it.

    Also keep in mind if on a slope you may need an additive for grip.
     
  7. ross100

    ross100 Well-Known Member

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    Used Berger Jet Dry lasted 1 year :(
     
  8. Daydreamer

    Daydreamer Well-Known Member

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    What are the pros & cons of colored sealer vs painting the concrete approach?
    Berger Jet paint lasting 1 year does not sound good.
    Which would look worse? Worn off sealer or paint? Looks like both approaches will need re-painting over time.
     
  9. bob shovel

    bob shovel Well-Known Member

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    Have you considered stencil crete over the top?
     
  10. Starlite

    Starlite Well-Known Member

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    I power washed my driveway few months ago and sealed it with Bone Dry | Timber & Concrete Sealant | Wet & Forget

    It looks brand new now.. stain and mould resistant so far.. on a side note, use a good power washer... i used an aldi brand and ended up with very sore arms and took a week to get it done..
     
  11. drg86

    drg86 Well-Known Member

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    Just my experience. Have rented a place that had painted driveway and it didn't hold up more than a year. I've sealed families driveway before and it's held up for 10 years or so. Not sure on brand as my father picked it up.
     
  12. Daydreamer

    Daydreamer Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, this was the option I considered initially but there are decent cracks in the existing concrete and professionals that have looked at it all say that the crack will come through any stencil coated on top.

    That is helpful to know. I might look into the coloured sealer approach. I have had mixed advice from people that have looked at it: some say do coloured concrete sealer, and some say paint it with exterior paint designed for concrete. I would be interested in hearing from others that have used coloured concrete sealer on existing driveway.
     
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  13. Azazel

    Azazel Well-Known Member

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    Apparently there are some tough wearing paver paints too.
    I'm not sure about brands though.
     
  14. fantail

    fantail Well-Known Member

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    There was a thread about this awhile ago and I replied with info as I had recently had a driveway done on an IP in Perth and it came up really well - even totally covering up the terrible oil stains that our tenant had caused when repairing his car on the driveway !

    Here are the details...........
    The name of the product for colouring concrete is called Nu Tech Pave Coat. The brochure says it's a coating manufactured from "tough acrylic resins and fade resistant pigments" and can be used to seal and protect new and old concrete, including concrete roof tiles. It comes in many colours.
    Contact details are NuTech Paint, 4 Keppler Cct., Seaford (03) 9770 3000, www.nutech.com.au
    There are distributors in other states too.
    The people at head office are very helpful.
     
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  15. Daydreamer

    Daydreamer Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for this @fantail. This sounds like a coloured sealer. Can I ask how long ago you had the driveway done? Is it still holding up pretty good after a few years?

    Also, do people know if tiles can be glued on top of previously sealed concrete? Tilers are saying that it will be a much more difficult job to tile later if the concrete was previously painted - because the glue won't stick, and so no tiler will want to touch the job or it will cost a lot more because all the previous paint that is peeling off will need to be removed first before it can be tiled. My preference would be a coloured sealer approach (cheaper), but this is PPOR and what if it looks crap a few years later and it will just cost me more in the end should I try to get it tiled.
     
  16. fantail

    fantail Well-Known Member

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    Hi Daydreamer,
    We had the driveway done last year.
    The tradie first tried pressure washing and chemical treatment but the oil stains remained, so he used this stuff.
    It was dearer than just painting it with paving paint but builder explained that it was a different product so I rang the supplier of the product and they explained the product and process and they were generally very helpful.
    Apart from cost of the product, it's very labour intensive as there are several steps involved......
    .... driveway needs to be etched with a special chemical, then left to dry, then the colour needs to be applied and left to dry (not sure if only one coat).
    It wasn't a process I could imagine myself doing - (or Mr. Fantail either for that matter).
    As I said, it was more expensive than just painting, but way cheaper than other options. The supplier would be able to advise about the lifetime of their product and any guarantees that apply.
    I haven't seen the driveway in the past year as the IP has now been sold, but if there were any problems, the selling agent would've tried to help out the new owners so would've asked me for the tradie's details.
    Hope this helps.
    .
     
  17. melon

    melon Member

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    I would like to paint my driveway too. But it got so many cracking spots and not at level as well. Should I use concrete mix to lay on top before starting the painting myself?
     
  18. Oldthings

    Oldthings Member

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    I worked as a concreter for 3 years. If we did a coloured driveway and there was existing plain concrete next it we always colour sealed the plain concrete to match the new colour through. Don’t paint it as the paint doesn’t penetrate as deep as the sealer.

    Don’t go to Bunnings. Find a local concrete/industrial supplies store that sell sealer. I can’t remember what we used to use as it was 15 years ago but it was a clear sealer and then you added the colour to it and mixes before applying. It was made by the same company that made the oxides we used to use for stencils.