Resealing the Stained Concrete Floor

As a preparation for installing walls, and to just make the spaces more pleasant, I decided to clean and reseal the concrete floor. This project is also on the winter to do list.
I hauled in the SoyCrete stain and Acri-Soy sealer from the garage where it sat for a couple of years. I found the yellow golden stain to still be yellow, but no amount of stirring made the brown stain lose its gray cast. On the floor it is a dull muddy grey-brown. The sealer however seemed to be just fine. I stirred it well and I’m using it with a large grout cleaning sponge.

I’m using Clorox Cleanup to clean the floor.

Clorox Clean Up

Clorox Clean Up

I really like this cleaner and it seem to tackle the toughest dirt. I’m cleaning with a scrub brush with3M pads for tough spots, a utility drywall joint knife to scrape off lumpy dirt and a 3M Scotch-Brite sponge using both the scrub and sponge sides.

I tried a little yellow stain on the entry and didn’t think it improved the effect. The extra yellow stain is in the foreground of this photo. Just the corner on the left is sealed. I decided staining again would just be a lot of trouble for little gain.

Sealed Front Entry

Stained and Partially Sealed Front Entry

I’m using the Zep four step Floor Maintenance products from Home Depot. The finish is Zep Wet Look, the same stuff I have used for years on the RV fiberglass to make it shine. It requires four thin coats of finish. On concrete this goes over sealer, on the RV just over very clean fiberglass. The coats only take about 15 minutes to dry and they recommend 30 minutes between coats.

Zep Wet Look Floor Finish

Zep Wet Look Floor Finish

The finish will help protect the sealer.

Sealed and Polished Front Entry

Sealed Front Entry with Floor Finish in Upper Corner

I also bought the Zep cleaner which is neutral and won’t destroy the finish. Ammonia will take off this finish. The cleaner is a concentrate while the finish is used full strength.

Zep Neutral-Floor-Cleaner-Concentrate

Zep Neutral Floor Cleaner

The kitchen floor’s sealer did not prevent some grease stains near the sink and stove, but re-sealed, they are not terribly obvious. Cleaning and sealing makes the floor look better, if not up to its original pristine finish.

Sealed Kitchen Floor

Sealed Kitchen Floor

And here is the final product with four coats of finish. I tried buffing with a hand buffer but the finish did not get shinier, so that is another extra step I can skip. I just sealed and finished around the cabinets. I will finish under the cabinets when I can get to them.

Finished Kitchen Floor

Finished Kitchen Floor

 

This entry was posted in Maintenance and Repair. Bookmark the permalink.