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Hi just moved into a Reno and painted concrete any help on how to remove so I can repaint in another colour please.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @strgay. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about painting concrete.
In general, painted concrete is one of those surfaces where shortcuts tend to fail. Most concrete paint systems do not recommend painting over deteriorated or flaking paint. The best and most reliable option is to remove all the existing paint and grind the surface back to clean, bare concrete. Once you’ve done that, you can use a full range of concrete painting systems and colours without limitation.
If you’re not planning to remove all the old paint, then every loose or flaking section must be scraped or ground off first. After that, your options become quite limited. You’ll need to use a primer specifically designed to go over deteriorated previously painted concrete, and even then, you’re usually restricted to a small range of colours, often greys. Most standard concrete paints won’t bond properly to unstable coatings, and that’s why the colour range is so limited in these systems.
So it really comes down to how far you want to go with preparation. Full removal gives you the best and longest-lasting result and the widest colour choice. Leaving the old paint in place is possible, but only with very specific products and compromises on colour and durability.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
