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Concrete is a pretty common surface, used in most places, as it is incredibly durable, and is also a solid and smooth surface that works for both indoor and outdoor places. However, it’s not exactly pretty to look at. (It looks quite boring and plain).
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The solution, of course, is to paint it, and you can do so in many different styles or colors or patterns.
#1 Best Overall
- Durable Epoxy Acrylic Formula: Resists hot tire pickup, scuffing, cracking, peeling, and fading. KILZ 1-Part Epoxy Floor Paint delivers long-lasting protection and a satin finish that looks great on concrete surfaces.
- Interior & Exterior Use: Designed for use on both indoor and outdoor horizontal surfaces. Ideal as concrete paint for basements, garage floors, and as an exterior paint for porches, driveways, and pool decks.
- Versatile Surface Application: Use on properly prepared porous concrete, masonry, stone, and brick. Not for vertical surfaces or areas exposed to hydrostatic pressure or forklift traffic. Residential use only.
- Low-VOC, Easy Application: This water-based interior/exterior paint applies easily with a roller or brush and cleans up with soap and water. Covers 300–400 sq. ft. per gallon on smooth surfaces, 200–300 on rough.
- Trusted KILZ Performance: KILZ has been a leader in surface coatings for over 50 years. Backed by a brand known for quality and innovation in paint and primer solutions for every part of your home.
Wooden floors are a lot more visually appealing, so you could also paint your concrete floor to look like it’s wood, even though it obviously isn’t. Truth is, you can paint concrete to look like whatever you want, as long as you have the right paint and tools for the job, and the right skill set to achieve it successfully.
Painting concrete to look like wood can be challenging, especially if you want it to look as realistic as possible, mirroring the texture of wooden floors. But it’s completely possible, especially if you have the right methods to do so!
Rank #2
- PAINT AND PRIMER IN ONE: Self-priming battleship gray formula saves time by combining a primer and paint in a single ready-to-use product
- HOT TIRE AND CHEMICAL RESISTANT: Resists damage from hot tires, motor oil, grease and gasoline on garage and driveway surfaces
- UV AND WEATHER RESISTANT: Durable satin finish resists fading and peeling in both interior and exterior applications
- VERSATILE CONCRETE COATING: Ideal for garages, carports, driveways, basements, porches, patios, walkways and pool decks
- EASY CLEANUP: Advanced acrylic formula cleans up with soap and water and is designed to be environmentally friendly
How do you paint concrete to look like wood planks?
Now that we know it’s completely possible to paint concrete so that it looks like wood planks, mirroring the texture and appearance of wooden floors, but on concrete, the question is: how?
How can you paint concrete so that it looks like wood, as realistically as possible? It can be quite a challenge to achieve this successfully, but if you have the right tools and you follow the steps of the method as closely as possible, you should be able to do it even if you’re a beginner or amateur painter. Let’s get right into the method!
Rank #3
- COVERAGE: Professional-grade floor coating covers up to 120 square feet per gallon with excellent durability and scratch resistance, (1 kg) of coating, Covers an area of approximately 3 square meters (32 square feet) per coat, the actual coverage area depends on the surface condition and coating thickness. For rough or porous floors, patching or leveling may be performed, otherwise, additional coating material will be required.
- VERSATILE APPLICATION: Suitable for multiple indoor surfaces including wood, metal, brick, plastic, and concrete in garages, basements, and interior spaces
- READY TO USE: Single-component formula requires no mixing and comes in an attractive Smoke Gray color that enhances any space
- LOW VOC FORMULA: Features a low volatile organic compound composition making it suitable for indoor applications with proper ventilation
- FINISH & FORM: Delivers a sophisticated matte finish in liquid form, perfect for achieving a professional-looking floor coating
What you will need
Before you start, it’s important that you prepare all of the materials and tools that you will need for the job. All of these should be easily found at any general hardware store, or at any paint store, and some you might already have at home, or might be able to borrow from somebody else!
Here is a list of all the materials and tools:
- Duct tape
- Aluminum foil
- Dish soap
- Painter’s tape
- Concrete primer
- A paint roller
- A paintbrush
- A paint tray
- Paint
- A brush or graining comb
- Paper towels, or cloth or rag
- Protective sealer
Step by step guide on how to paint concrete to look like wood planks
Once you have everything you need ready, and you’re prepared to begin the job, it’s time to get started! Here is a simple step-by-step guide with instructions, to get you through the entire process so your concrete floor can end up looking like wood planks.
Rank #4
- Durable Epoxy Acrylic Formula: Resists hot tire pickup, scuffing, cracking, peeling, and fading. KILZ 1-Part Epoxy Floor Paint delivers long-lasting protection and a satin finish that looks great on concrete surfaces.
- Interior & Exterior Use: Designed for use on both indoor and outdoor horizontal surfaces. Ideal as concrete paint for basements, garage floors, and as an exterior paint for porches, driveways, and pool decks.
- Versatile Surface Application: Use on properly prepared porous concrete, masonry, stone, and brick. Not for vertical surfaces or areas exposed to hydrostatic pressure or forklift traffic. Residential use only.
- Low-VOC, Easy Application: This water-based interior/exterior paint applies easily with a roller or brush and cleans up with soap and water. Covers 300–400 sq. ft. per gallon on smooth surfaces, 200–300 on rough.
- Trusted KILZ Performance: KILZ has been a leader in surface coatings for over 50 years. Backed by a brand known for quality and innovation in paint and primer solutions for every part of your home.
- The first step is to prep the concrete floor for the paint job. Start by cutting out a large square of aluminum foil, and placing it over the concrete floor, leaving it overnight. In the morning, check for signs of moisture. This is important because the concrete needs to be 100% dry in order for the paint to be applied properly and to avoid any peeling afterward. You also need to thoroughly clean the concrete surface beforehand, But if you wash it, leave it to dry for around 24 hours to ensure that it is completely dry! You might also want to chemically remove any previous coating of paint or sealer beforehand, as the paint will work best when applied to a rough and fresh surface of the concrete.
- Next, use the painter’s tape to tape off any areas you don’t want to paint over. Protect edges and areas you want untouched.
- Once everything is prepared and protected, start by applying a coating of concrete primer.
- After the primer has dried, apply your first layer of paint. As you’re trying to make it look like wood planks, you should paint in vertical strokes, following the same direction, and you should also make sure that you’ve chosen a suitably brown paint color.
- Leave the first layer of paint to dry.
- Next, mix a second color of paint (ideally it should be the same brown, but slightly darker), with some glaze.
- Paint the glaze mixture onto the surface, but make sure to apply it as a thin coating, and do small patches of the surface at a time.
- Before the glaze layer dries, you need to apply the wooden texture. To do this, you can use a special graining tool, which is used specifically for painting faux wood. Run it over the surface, and the teeth of the tool will scrape off pieces of paint in a way that makes it look like wood grain. If you don’t have this tool, you could just use a coarse-bristled brush, and it should provide you with the same textured effect. Make sure you’re not being too tidy or precise with this, as natural wood isn’t perfect looking and the lines on wood planks are never completely straight! (Basically, mistakes are welcome!)
- Add some details! You can use the darker brown paint to manually paint on “wooden” details such as small circles and extra lines. This can also help create a better illusion of individual wooden planks.
- Once this layer of paint is completely dry, you can seal the entire surface with a finishing coat, for protection and durability. There are many different types of sealers you can use, and some might add more of a glossy shine than others, so take your pick wisely!
- Once the final coating is dry, your concrete floor should now look like a surface of wood planks! It is recommended that you wait a few days before placing any furniture on top of it, to avoid the risk of scratches.
Jim Bettesworth well known for his can-do attitude and often takes jobs other companies were unwilling or unable to do. Experienced and educated in concrete construction and painting jobs. Read More.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- PAINT AND PRIMER IN ONE: Self-priming armor gray formula saves time by combining a primer and paint in a single ready-to-use product
- HOT TIRE AND CHEMICAL RESISTANT: Resists damage from hot tires, motor oil, grease and gasoline on garage and driveway surfaces
- UV AND WEATHER RESISTANT: Durable satin finish resists fading and peeling in both interior and exterior applications
- VERSATILE CONCRETE COATING: Ideal for garages, carports, driveways, basements, porches, patios, walkways and pool decks
- EASY CLEANUP: Advanced acrylic formula cleans up with soap and water and is designed to be environmentally friendly
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