Concrete – What kind of paint should be used on an outdoor concrete walkway

concreteoutdoorpaintpainting

I have an outdoor walkway that was freshly painted just before I bought my house two years ago. Two winters have worn down the paint and now it needs another coat or the exposed concrete will crumble.

Outdoor concrete walkway

I have two goals with re-painting the walkway.

  1. Protect the concrete (this is a must)

  2. Add a non-slip texture (this is not necessary, but would be nice to
    have)

To these ends, what type of paint should I use that is not slippery in cold, wet winter weather?

For point 2, is it possible to mix in gritty sand without compromising the paint? Or should I paint the walkway with some 'concrete safe' paint, then add a non-slip layer on top?

The walkway will need to be shoveled, will adding a layer of non-slip grit make the paint more prone to chipping?

Best Answer

Paint on a concrete walkway will never last very long, and adding sand would definitely make it chip faster. The correct way to do it would be to stain it. I would use a good stain instead of what you get at the big box stores. Then seal it. Concrete sealer you can get anywhere. You can add some sharkgrip to it for the non-slip you are looking for.