Concrete Stage Surface/Paint?

[Edgineer]

This looks like this might be the best forum for this question, so here goes . . .

We are building a new church auditorium, and the stage is smooth poured concrete, almost 1000 sq.ft. We are a modern church with a band, skits, maybe some artistic dance, and the occasional play. We want a black stage surface, and the general consensus is to paint it with some sort of a floor paint as a less expensive solution than some sort of laminate (which might also need to be painted). We don't want anything too glossy or reflective for light control, and we need something that isn't too slippery or tacky, but will be durable. A local floor specialist (who isn't a stage person) suggested Valspar's Latex Porch & Floor paint.

What kind of surface or paint do you recommend? Thanks in advance for any responses/suggestions!

[avkid]

I would recommend an epoxy paint made for concrete, it will be much more durable.

[techieman33]

I agree with avkid, get an epoxy paint, like what's made for garage floors

[lieperjp]

+1 for epoxy paint.

Also, you might want to talk to the contractor and see if they have a recommendation to give you, if they're nice.

[TheDonkey]

Now I'm only going by the little info I have in my head,

But isn't a concrete florr REALLY REALLY bad for dance and the like? IE isn't it much too solid?

[aminorking]

To look at it from a different angle, you could place MDF sheets down on the stage, put gaffer at the seams and paint. This may be cheaper if the paints you are looking at are quite expensive because you could paint the MDF with regular paint.

Hope that is helpful

[TupeloTechie]

You could try a dark concrete stain.

[Edgineer]

Thanks everyone! I share the concern about concrete being too hard for dance. Regarding the MDF sheet idea, which I like, we've talked about something like pergo, but it never occurred to me that we could get thin sheets of MDF. I'll check that further.

Also, I was concerned about epoxy paints possibly being too tacky and reflective, but someone told me today that we might be able to get an epoxy that has more of an enamel look and feel.

Please keep the ideas coming, and thanks again!

[Van]

Originally Posted by Edgineer

Thanks everyone! I share the concern about concrete being too hard for dance. Regarding the MDF sheet idea, which I like, we've talked about something like pergo, but it never occurred to me that we could get thin sheets of MDF. I'll check that further.

Also, I was concerned about epoxy paints possibly being too tacky and reflective, but someone told me today that we might be able to get an epoxy that has more of an enamel look and feel.

Please keep the ideas coming, and thanks again!

Concrete Bad !
MDF not much better, it's a very dense substance with no perceptable give.
The real way to do it is to install a " sprung floor ", use search feature, I and several others have posted concerning the construction of one.
If your only solution is asimple surfecr cover then I strongly suggest using an expoxy floor covering. There are several availible either OTC or from Contractors. Nowdays they are almost infinately tintable and come on satin or flat finishes. Another option would be availible from a flooring contractor which is a rubberized gym flooring, this has a little give, but it is gougable.

[Edgineer]

Thanks. We don't do much dance right now. If we do, it is more in the ballet/worship direction, but there has been some modern dance in the past.

I was referred by one of our contractors to Rosebrand (don't know why I didn't think of them earlier), and they recommended their Adagio vinyl dance floor covering. I guess this would fall into the same category with Marley, which our rigging contractor suggested. Does anyone have experience with that sort of covering?