Gonna paint the garage floor, plan:
1) Clean with simple green
2) Paint with a home depot garage floor paint

Are those chip that you spread over the paint worth doing?
Are they hard to do (spread evenly)?

Don’t drive on it with hot tires. Other that that I don’t know.

From what I understand, the preparation is the key. Of course that goes with most things. Simple green might be enough - it depends on the condition of your floor. IMO the specks look great - hide some dirt and provide traction. My next home will have it.

I did my own years ago and it turned out great. I got some kind of buffer with abrasives and did whole floor, degreased and prepped right. Make sure of your ventilation. I got to the final clear coat and was about 1/2 way done, using open doors for ventilation, when the dam wind started blowing leaves and crap straight into the double doors. Which I had to shut.Finished the job rolling as much as I could, bolt out rear door and breathe. Couple of deep breaths, back into garage, repeat.it is still in great shape except for one spot where my wife’s wheel is, and it’s been 20 plus years

Etch it with muriatic acid and paint it with H&H concrete stain.

Gotta clean with an acid solution.

Doing it in colder temps is also not a good idea.

Does it need to be etched if it is only ~2 years old?

Not sure I’m just repeating what a painter told me when I was wanting to paint my basement. I would think after two years it probably needs it. I painted a basketball court on our driveway with the H&H 25 years ago and it’s still there.

The etching stain is a pretty tough job. The paint with sand in it gets dirty easy and is the devil to get clean.

yes, though you may enjoy renting a grinder instead. they say the box store epoxys are watered down 50% but to order the 100% stuff starts around $400.

Clean with both a degreaser and a acid. The chips are a preference thing. Once once get the clearcoat on and think its done, wait another day. The finished product will depend on your concrete finish; if you are applying to a brush-finish concrete then it will not be as bright and slick, vice a smooth concrete.
It is a bunch of work, just be thorough and patient.

Don't.
But if you must, prep, prep, prep. Preparation should take 3X longer than the painting for a floor that will last more than a couple of years. And everything is dependent on the characteristics of the slab and vapor barrier under the slab.

Yep. Whatever you put on, is gonna come off.

There is a process of UV curing of a stain that is state of the art and won't come off. Cured 100% in an hour. Expensive.

Don't use the home depot paint.

True epoxy coatings done by pros for garage floors is the only way to go.

Don't put anything on it because whatever you paint on is gonna come off and look like crap. A lot of work for nothing. Just pressure wash it real good and thats all. It will look fine and you can go fishing or hunting instead of screwing around with painting crap that is gonna peel off eventually.

I put the Behr driveway stain on my drive. It marks real easy with tire tracks etc. Use a oil based, solid stain from Sherwin Williams. I wish I had listened to the paint guy there.