painting over acrylic sealer

by David
(Georgia)

Q. About 2 years ago, I primed, painted, and sealed (water based primer, latex concrete paint, acrylic sealer) about 500 sq ft of the interior of my home.

We would like a darker shade of paint on the floor. Is it possible to repeat this process over an acrylic sealer? What are the best products available to insure the best finish at an affordable price?

Also, I'm generally a novice at most things around the house, so nothing too invasive...my dog house is already uncomfortable.

Also, what's the best way to clean an acrylic sealed concrete floor? Especially the more stubborn stains?

A. You can't apply paint over an acrylic concrete sealer and expect it to bond for very long. There aren't any pores in the concrete for the paint to absorb into and stick to the concrete. They have all been filled with the primer, paint, and sealer you have already applied.

You can go to Sherwin Williams or another paint store and purchase pigment to add to the acrylic "solvent" based concrete sealer you have. If it is solvent based (not water based) you can apply it over the solvent based sealer you have already used. The two sealers will bond to each other and give you the color you want without removing the sealer already on the concrete.

If the sealer you first used was a water based sealer, you can apply a tinted (colored) solvent based sealer over this.