Porch and floor paints are incredibly durable paints that are resistant to dirt, moisture, and other common issues.
Porch and floor paints are able to be applied indoors and outdoors on wood, concrete, and other surfaces.
What makes them especially unique versus other paints is that they are specifically designed to be walked on. This means they can withstand daily wear and they create a non-slip surface.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall Porch and Floor Paint
Kilz Porch and Patio Floor Paint
Best Primer For Porch, Patio, and Floors
INSL-X STIX Primer
The Best Floor Paints for Porch and Floors
We’ve had the opportunity to use many different types of porch and floor paints for our clients over the years. From basement floors to stairwells, 3-season porch floors, and 4-season porch floors.
Here are our picks for the best floor paints for porches and patios.
Kilz Low Luster Porch and Patio Latex Floor Paint
The Kilz brand somehow seems to never let you down with the quality of their products and Kilz Proch and Patio keeps up the tradition.
Kilz Porch and Patio is designed to endure foot traffic, furniture, and all forms of weather. It also boasts a mildew-resistant finish that won’t scuff, crack or peel. This means none of that mossy mildew growing on your patio floor.
Kilz Porch and Patio can also be used on interiors if you want an incredibly durable floor paint for your basement or any other room in your home.
Because of its durability, mildew resistance, 1-hour dry time, and great price, Kilz Porch and Patio is our top pick for the best floor paint.
California Paints ALLFLOR Porch, Patio, Floor Paint
California Paints ALLFLOR Porch and Patio is our second pick for a handful of great reasons.
First, this acrylic enamel is fortified with emulsified epoxy, which provides extreme durability beyond what other floor paints can provide.
ALLFLOR also holds its color as well as being water and blister-resistant. Finally, ALLFLOR offers some of the best adhesion of any porch and floor paint.
Rust-Oleum Home Interior Floor Coating Kit
Rust-Oleum Home Floor Coating is a two part home floor coating designed for tile, vinyl, wood, porcelain, concrete, and other floor surfaces.
The two part system is comprised of a base coat that bonds to your floors and a top coat that adds color and durability.
Rust-Oleum Home is perfect for the home painting DIYer.
INSL-X Tough Shield Floor and Patio Paint
INSL-X has gone under the radar for years, but these days many people are realizing that this is one of the best paint brands on the market.
Tough Shield is a waterborne acrylic enamel that is designed as a rugged, durable finish that is perfect for porch floors, kitchens, basements, and more.
Behr Porch and Patio Floor Paint
Behr is one of my absolute favorite paint brands and the one I continually use in my own home due to its quality, warranty, and affordability.
Behr Porch and Patio Floor Paint is a scuff-resistant, weather-resistant, and mildew-resistant floor coating that can be applied over wood, metal, concrete, tile, and other surfaces.
Best Porch and Floor Primers
INSL-X Stix Acrylic Waterborne Bonding Primer
INSL-X STIX is my absolute favorite primer. This primer has incredible adhesions that allows you to paint over nearly any surface (even glossy tile).
I use Stix for kitchen cabinet painting, priming floors, priming concrete, exterior priming, and anywhere a strong bond is required.
Zinsser Bullseye 123 Primer
Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 is a fantastic all-purpose primer that has a great reputation with partners and home owners alike.
Bullseye 1-2-3 is perfect for porches and floors as well as any other surfaces in your home that require priming for a great bond.
Other Tools & Materials Needed For Porch and Floor Painting
When painting porches, patios, and other floors, there are a handful of tools and materials that you’ll most likely need. Here our some of our favorites.
- Pressure Washer – The SunJoe Electric Pressure Washer is my favorite DIY power washer.
- Pre-Mixed Concrete Patch
- Wooster 9″ Roller Frame
- Wooster Extension Pole (save your back!)
- Pro Grade Paint Roller Covers
- 3″ Angled Pro Paint Brush
What Is Porch and Floor Paint?
Porch and floor paint is a paint that is specifically designed to withstand high-traffic areas such as wood & concrete basement floors, stairs, patio floor, and more.
The paint is designed to be applied on interior or exterior surfaces and not become slippery when wet.
A normal paint applied to these areas will typically wear through, peel off or become slippery when wet.
Good porch and floor paint will even withstand cleaning with harsh chemicals and hard scrubbing from floor cleaners.
Note: While porch and floor paint typically doesn’t have a high VOC content, a respirator is never a bad idea. Check out The Best Paint Respirators to find the right one for you.
It`s possible to find this paint in satin sheen and gloss. Both options are designed to be used on floors, though the gloss version works well on doors, window trim, and more. If you choose the satin version, it has a slight sheen to it, giving you a richer color.
How To Prep Your Floors For Paint
Prepping your floors for paint really depends on the condition of the floor that you plan on painting. Does it have peeling paint, is it greasy, is it dirty, and/or does it need patchwork.
Start by sweeping the floor clean and hand washing it with a rag until there is no residue left on the floor.
If the floor has any greasy residue on it, a tsp solution, vinegar, or even dish soap added to your water will help clean the floor even better.
Next, If you have old concrete paint on the floor that is peeling, you need to scrape as much off as possible, ideally until there is none left.
Finally, If the floor needs any patchwork, now is the time to do this. After patching, give the patch the required time to dry, or your floor paint will end up peeling.
Personally, I don’t think DIYers should acid etch their floors. There are a lot of health risks involved by using muriatic acid on your floors that I don’t believe are worth the risk. Acid etching will allow the paint to adhere better, but I’ve found that floor paint will adhere great if the floor is thoroughly cleaned.
Painting Your Floors With Porch and Floor Paint
The actual painting of your floors is pretty straight forward.
First, start off by prepping the room as necessary. If you need to tape off any trim or walls, do this now. Read this post for help with the best painter’s tape.
I like to start by using a 3″ brush and going around the edges of the area I plan on painting.
Next, I switch to a 9″ roller on a 4′ extension pole. This allows me to roll paint onto the floor without hurting my back if it is a long day.
All porch and floor paints require two coats. Make sure to allow adequate time in between coats.
When completed, make sure to properly clean up all your painting tools. Check out our post on cleaning paint brushes for tips on making your brushes last longer.
Finally, only walk on the floor paint with socks for the first week. No heavy traffic.
Porch and Floor Paint FAQ
Typically you can walk on newly painted floors after 24 hours. But only with socks, no heavy traffic. You can start using the floors normally after they have had a week to cure.
All porch and floor paints require two coats of paint as suggested by their manufacturers.
No. Acid etching can help with the adhesion of the paint to your concrete floor, however throughly cleaning your floor is usually sufficient and safer than using muratic acid.
Yes. Porch and floor paint can be used on interior or exterior floors.
No. Porch and floor paint is designed to be slip resistant. If extra precaution is needed, add a texture additive to your paint for even more slip resistance.
Conclusion
Porch and floor paint is a great choice when you want to brighten up a laundry room floor, a concrete basement, a wooden stairs, or an exterior patio.
Vickie
Saturday 8th of January 2022
Ryan, I’m using the Benjamin Moore Floor and Patio pain inside on previously painted wood floors. Can I put a water based polyurethane on top?
Ryanc
Saturday 22nd of January 2022
In my opinion, you shouldn't have any issue putting water based poly on top. Good luck!
Shannon
Thursday 16th of September 2021
4 years ago I painted my boyfriend's bare subfloor because it looked awful. It had oil stains and multiple different colored paint stains from remodeling his home. He had some old paint given to him by a friend, Valspar 4000 in Fired Earth is perfect. I only had enough to do one coat (I had to use a mini foam roller at that) but it's held up beautifully. I topped it off with 2 coats of mop n glo. No more splinters!
Susan
Monday 5th of July 2021
You left out the best one that I have found, PPG Porch and Floor. I love the Pewter Gray. It is almost flat but still easy to clean. It goes one nicely, only 2 coats needed and lasts a long time.
Lisa Fallon
Thursday 25th of March 2021
I’m thinking about stenciling my builders grade tile floor in my kitchen. After priming the tile with Stix, do you think the Ben Moore floor paint is durable enough for a kitchen? I was going to poly on top of it.
Ryanc
Monday 5th of April 2021
Hi Lisa, I think this will work, but only if your prep is perfect. Clean the floor flawlessly, then sand it to scuff it up and create a good bond. If you do that right, you should be ok. Good luck!
Mary
Monday 22nd of March 2021
Thank you Ryan for your straightforward instructions and tips on how to ready and subsequently paint a porch floor. I am a Ben Moore fan and have used it quite extensively in at least three of my homes, both interior and exterior. My next big project is repainting my porch floor and steps this spring / summer. I am looking forward to making my 1923 Craftsman beautiful and charming again!
Ryanc
Monday 5th of April 2021
Good luck Mary!