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Acid Stain For The Garage Floor?
- Thread starter h-laisure
- Start date
Coincidentally I have been to class on this subject this past week. I have stained 3 floors and just bought the stain to do my garage floor.
Acid stains react with the lime in the concrete and color the concrete itself. They are not a layer of color like a paint.
This means that you will still have the problem of oil and gas staining the concrete so you will need to seal it someway.
Most good concrete sealers are xylene based and professionals typically won't use water/acrylic based sealers.
I intend to seal mine but I don't intend to add a clear epoxy coat since that gives you something extra to lift or wear off.
Since the color is in the concrete itself you should not get a wear pattern develop.
Speaking of color in the concrete, there is also a broadcast color powder that is added to the wet concrete and trowelled in. I just did 3000 sq ft of my house that and then used a textured roller to give it a pattern like rock. This still has to be sealed.
You can also have color added in the truck when your concrete is poured. It is only about $3 a yard more than uncolored concrete.
In the past 3 months I have done all of these methods. I have been learning a lot!!!!
P.S. you can mix and match these techniques and you can also add layers of color to get different effects. On my house I used the broadcast method of color mixing 2 different colors and now I am in the process of adding a layer of acid stain to get a deeper effect. My test section looked fabulous. I will be finishing and sealing the balance this weekend. I will post pics once it is doen.
Acid stains react with the lime in the concrete and color the concrete itself. They are not a layer of color like a paint.
This means that you will still have the problem of oil and gas staining the concrete so you will need to seal it someway.
Most good concrete sealers are xylene based and professionals typically won't use water/acrylic based sealers.
I intend to seal mine but I don't intend to add a clear epoxy coat since that gives you something extra to lift or wear off.
Since the color is in the concrete itself you should not get a wear pattern develop.
Speaking of color in the concrete, there is also a broadcast color powder that is added to the wet concrete and trowelled in. I just did 3000 sq ft of my house that and then used a textured roller to give it a pattern like rock. This still has to be sealed.
You can also have color added in the truck when your concrete is poured. It is only about $3 a yard more than uncolored concrete.
In the past 3 months I have done all of these methods. I have been learning a lot!!!!
P.S. you can mix and match these techniques and you can also add layers of color to get different effects. On my house I used the broadcast method of color mixing 2 different colors and now I am in the process of adding a layer of acid stain to get a deeper effect. My test section looked fabulous. I will be finishing and sealing the balance this weekend. I will post pics once it is doen.
Last edited:
recycler
Member
I just stained the floor in my new shop and then sealed it. Its new so I can't tell you how it wears but from the research I did only the sealer will wear over time and it can easily be resealed when it needs it. I would advise to roll on the sealer instead of spraying it with a garden sprayer like I did. Brad
I was wondering if anyone has used DirectColors inc. WWW.directcolors.com
They seem to have a little better prices than the other companies I have looked into.
This is the direction I want to go with my floor. I like the look alot, but I would love to hear how it works in a fabrication/shop. I may end up with a combination of floor finishes.
They seem to have a little better prices than the other companies I have looked into.
This is the direction I want to go with my floor. I like the look alot, but I would love to hear how it works in a fabrication/shop. I may end up with a combination of floor finishes.
Go to a concrete supply store. Not only will you get "trades" price, but you will get lots of advice on how to do it.
I have used Kemiko and Artcrete.
Kemiko has more intense colors and leaves less of a "scunge" on the surface that has to be removed.
DON"T follow directions for removal (3 flooding and mopping off) Use TSP and do it in one pass. Just finished cleaning and getting ready to seal mine today.
I have used Kemiko and Artcrete.
Kemiko has more intense colors and leaves less of a "scunge" on the surface that has to be removed.
DON"T follow directions for removal (3 flooding and mopping off) Use TSP and do it in one pass. Just finished cleaning and getting ready to seal mine today.
Didn't get it sealed. I tried all day but just as the concrete would get dry enough to seal someone would walk over the floor with muddy feet. That happened 3 time today and one other time I came back and a racoon had walked across it. You have to get it dry enough that there is no water blossoming.
The floor is a mixture of Colay and Malay tan. The Malay went down first and then I put some Cola over it in places to make it look interesting.
I have a small amount of Heritage Green so I might just add a little of that since I didn't get the sealing working and there are racoon and cat tracks all over it this morning.
Arrgggghhhhhhh!
The floor is a mixture of Colay and Malay tan. The Malay went down first and then I put some Cola over it in places to make it look interesting.
I have a small amount of Heritage Green so I might just add a little of that since I didn't get the sealing working and there are racoon and cat tracks all over it this morning.
Arrgggghhhhhhh!