Don Vandervort, Head Homeboy, has written more than 30 DIY home improvement books, been a segment host on HGTV, served as MSN.com's home improvement expert and written countless magazine articles.
Liquid floor finishes are easily applied to a garage floor with a roller or brush, straight from the can, and are the most inexpensive option. They bond to the concrete and fill small cracks and open pores, creating a smooth surface that makes sweeping or mopping up less of a chore, and finding dropped tools and parts less of a challenge.
Concrete sealers are usually clear acrylic or polyurethane. Floor paints may be oil-based, modified acrylic or water (latex) based. A minimum of two coats are required to ensure coverage, but because raw concrete is porous and tends to suck up finishes, especially first coats, you may need to buy and apply more than you think you'll need.
Surface finishes on concrete are problematic. They look great at first, but both paints and sealers wear off over time, and they wear unevenly. They also can be very slippery when wet. Sand may be sprinkled onto a wet finish to offset this, but it will wear away before long, too. A big problem with most floor paint is that a car's hot tires will lift it right off the floor, no matter what the paint manufacturers claim, or how well they are applied. Solvents also attack most types of paint, and in a garage much of what is spilled usually contains some type of solvent.
Finally, if your garage floor has a water problem--that is, if water seeps up through cracks or mysteriously appears under items left lying around--surface finishes are probably not a good option for you. The hydrostatic pressure that forces underground water up through the floor will also prevent the finish from adhering. --MM
