<p>My painter and I are having a discussion. He has been hired every few years to throw a coat of garage floor or porch paint on the cement/concrete entryway and few steps in front of the front door of a house I care for as a rental. He now says, let’s just strip off the blistered paint, and keep it paint free. </p>
<p>I say, no, though good for traction, I don’t want the cement to become pitted from tracked sidewalk salt, and besides, it looks more finished with a coat of paint. New paint every few years is cheaper than pouring a new porch after the cement becomes degraded. Some think I’m imagining things, and being too picky. Opinions?</p>
<p>How about strip, stain, and put a finish on it. It would have color, a protective finish, and would only need reapplication of the finish every year or so. </p>
<p>Porch paint never works on concrete, it always blisters and is a pain and you’re scraping and repainting. And yes, cement pits, then water gets in and it cracks. Ugh. We coated some rental cement steps with “river rock” coating years ago and it cut down on the slipperiness because it’s quite gritty and it looks pretty good even a decade later. I mentioned to my husband just this year that he should find out if it needs resealing or something as he’s done nothing for a decade. River rock gets used around pools etc. and there’s always installation guys advertising.</p>