Can i paint the cement under fireplace hearth?If not what?

[manw]

I recently had a fireplace installed. The floor wasn't level so there is a wedge of cement exposed below (see pics: https://drive.google.com/folder/d/0B7kuw9HZDyuFYThNOW1nVkFzTzQ/edit )

The installer says I should conceal it with wooden beading but personally i hate the stuff so I was wondering if i could just paint the cement? If yes, would i need to prepare it with something to stop it cracking first? What paint would i use?

 

[blightymam]

Yes you can paint it, but the neatest thing would to use wooden beading, esp if you can even it up to the floor. You could always use black paint on the beading to blend it in - that's what we did and it looks very smart. Didn't want the different grain & colour of the beading to look at odds with the wooden floor.

Oh, and I guess masonry paint would do the trick on the cement, but it's thick stuff, best to mask off the floor first if you use it. I would imagine most paints be ok tho as such a small area.