Canberra's award winning residential and commercial painters

The look and aesthetics of raw concrete are not always appealing even where the raw, "industrial" concrete look had been desired and specified, the final appearance of concrete is often not what the architect or designer expected, as the surface is often blighted with stains, streaks and marks from curing compounds, form oils, release agents, mortar smears, site damage and wear and tear.
Imperfections arising from blowholes honeycombing and on-site damage affect not only the aesthetics but also the integrity of the concrete itself, and will require filling and patching

When concrete is fresh, it is very highly alkaline. This alkalinity protects reinforcing steel from rapidly corroding. Unfortunately, uncoated concrete readily absorbs moisture and carbon dioxide, which in turn neutralise the concrete, lowering its alkalinity and thus allowed steel to corrode. When steel corrodes the iron oxide corrosion products occupy up to eight times the original volume of steel creating stress in the concrete. Whilst compressive strength of concrete is very high its flexural strength is relatively weak, and so the concrete cracks around the reinforcing steel.
Painting concrete with appropriate products will prevent the neutralisation process from occurring, by protecting the concrete's naturally high alkalinity.

From an aesthetic point of view, painting a floor in attractive colour may add light, a feeling of space, warmth or elegance.
Coating a floor in a pleasing finish may also lift morale. It will most certainly make you feel differently about a space. In fact paint and coatings in general are one of the cheapest means of changing how you might feel about a certain space.

Concrete is susceptible to chemical attack by a wide range of chemicals. Not only do acids readily eat into concrete (and most foodstuffs and beverages are slightly or moderately acidic), but there are many seemingly benign chemicals, such as sugar, that readily react with concrete to completely break down the concrete's integrity causing catastrophic failure.

Unpainted concrete generally has a low light reflectance value, absorbing light energy and emitting little. The application of a smooth, light coloured floor coating increases the light reflectance value of the floor and increases lighting efficiency and improving visibility, creating a brighter safer working environment.
Factory floor areas can be identified using colour, yellow identify safety zones, green identify safety and first aid areas and blue identifies protective clothing areas for example.

The natural porosity of even well-cured "high-strength" concrete allows the absorption of liquids and adhesion of stains and dust, creating an unsightly appearance. Unpainted concrete also presents great difficulties around cleaning and maintenance.
Poorly cured concrete (which most concrete happens to be) harbours and generates dust on the surface, which continues for the life of the floor or until the surface is sealed. So, from a practical point of view, painting a floor keeps it from generating its own dust as well as preventing dust accumulating in its pores. Concrete dust can contaminate food, beverages, pharmaceutical supplies, electronic equipment and other goods, rendering them useless. Dust can also damage such things as expensive artwork. Dust is often responsible for "shop-soiled" goods and blemishes on packaging, reducing the sale price.
A suitable floor coating will also prevent the ingress of liquids. The porous nature of unpainted concrete makes complete removal of spills (and any associated odours) impossible.
Sealing the porous surface and filling the profile of the concrete floor creates a smooth, easily cleaned and maintained floor, dirt is easily removed by broom, mop or vacuum.
In fact coating a floor in many cases is a mandatory requirement for workplace hygiene.