Can anyone tell me how to paint a concrete floor?

I have seen it on these home makeover shows and would like to pull up my carpet in our garage apartment. They don't give much detail, but you paint and can do designs and top it with a shiny coat. Any knowledge anyone or a site you know of I can find out about this?

Did it in my screened- in room down in florida, beautiful! Go to Home Depot or Lowe's at the paint counter. Ask the man for paint for cement, he will make it any color you need right there! There are also
stencils there you could use to your liking, just pick one! And paint the designs in different colors, or whatever the design would call for. Should take two days, clean real good the floor must be without dirt.
paint it, that's one day, letting it dry. then do the design, let it dry and wow !!! i did it!!!
Goood for you! Then paint on a coat of colorless paint , ask the paint man. ok!

floor must be ultra clean, no glue, no junk on it. must be very dry. Use a good concrete paint, epoxy paints are very good. Once base coat is one, then do design and cover with floor poly urethtane...should hold up well wth reasonable care.

They make concrete stain or paint. Home Depot or lowes.

I painted the concrete floors in my house, and a concrete floor in my garage as well.
You first need to remove anything off the floor like carpet tacks or glue. You can use a wonder bar and a hammer to remove carpet tacks. And you can use a floor scraper (a metal sheet on the end of a broom handle) to scrape off anything stuck on the floor, to leave it perfectly smooth.
Then clean the floor. Just mop it.
Then fill in any holes and any cracks with a concrete filler (comes in tubes to squeeze out or in little containers.)
Then you must first put on a primer, just roll it on. It is a milky color, but dries clear with a little stickiness (if you don't do this step the paint will not adhere permanently to the concrete.)
Then you paint the floor with a concrete floor paint. The darker colors show dirt very easily; the lighter colors, not as much.
I did not do this-seal the paint. So now my floors show every mark when I move furniture across the room, etc. So I would recommend sealing the paint when you are done.
Painting concrete is extremely easy and quick. The hardest part is the preparation. But to paint an ordinary size room may take you 10 minutes. Use a roller on the end of a long handle. I just poured the paint directly on the floor and didn't use a paint pan at all after a while. Just quicker and less of a mess. Do the outline of the room with a paint brush.
Behr paint products at Home Depot are a very good brand to use for this.
That's what I used, and it was recommended to me by some people who paint driveways, pool patios, etc. for a living.

use a floor paint (masonry or concrete paint made for floors) sico, and behr both make good ones

Do-It-Yourself Garage Floor Coating in 4 Simple Steps
http://your-floors.blogspot.com/2007/11/...

They have several paints and stains you can use on your floors. I have even seen a room that had a oriental rug painted on it...cool looking.

You best bet it to check with your local hardware ( Lowe's & Home Depot ) on occasion they hold FREE 'How To Do It' classes. You will get your best advise and even some hands on practice.