Acid Stain Source

[moparfreak]

Folks,

So I'm fairly confident that I'm going to be going with an acid stain with sealer for my upcoming garage, but I'm looking for options for the acid stain. I've come across H&C, Concrete Camoflage and of course Legacy. What are some other reputable sources? THe main factors are color choices available (looking for gray/blueish stain colors), price and convenience of obtaining the stain.

ANywhere else I should be looking?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[Shea]

Hey Adam, because acid stains are organic in nature, you only have 8 basic tone selections for color. Each color reacts differently depending on the amount of laitance on the surface for the stain to react to and also the base color of the concrete. For example, a blue stain will look more teal on a white surface where as a darker gray surface is a deeper blue.

Kemico and Direct Colors are big companies that offer stains as well. The blues do vary a little bit. You may need to get a few samples and do some tests in an inconspicuous area to find which one would work best for you.

 

[moparfreak]

Shea,

Thank you for this information and these links. Look to be good sources. The problem I seem to have the most is actually color selection, which as you mention might be inherent to the acid stain. I'm planning for gray walls with a marbled gray floor, and red accents. So, finding an acid stain in some form of gray has been challenging. No one seems to have anything.

Have you seen any acid stains in shades of gray?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Mopar:

These colors are not available in acid format. They are available in acetone dye.
Color Choices: http://legacyindustrial.net/images/Concrete Dye Chart.pdf

Product: http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/concrete-dye-per-gallon-p-162.html

 

[moparfreak]

Is it possible to get the mottled/marbled look of the acid stain with the dye product? Or does it come out looking more like a solid color? Maybe I'd be back looking at the acrylic semi-transparent?

Since I'd probably be going with the same sealer do I lose anything with the dye. I had opted for the acid stain due to its penetration and marbled look.

Sorry for all the questions but I have had a tough time just settling in on the right products with some amount of confidence, and I'm anxious to get a sample and try something out already...

Thanks,
Adam

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Adam:

You can apply a base coat and then highlight it.
It does not provide a uniform color, it lends itself to an artistic touch:

 

[moparfreak]

Interesting. What are the advantages/drawbacks of the acetone dye vs. acid stain? Vs. acryclic?

How does it apply and prep for?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Adam:
Advantages: Instant color, no acid to deal with, coat in minutes, many colors
Disadvantages: acetone is tricky to handle (no smoking)

Grind floor or acid etch.
Apply using acetone sprayer.

 

[bigbadktm]

Over my acetone dye floors,I typically either spray a chemical resistant urethane followed by a second coat, or just a water based epoxy. You can also follow the epoxy with the urethane.

 

[moparfreak]

OK, I'm looking into this further. Does anyone have more example pictures so I can get a flavor for how this applies and turns out?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Looked around the forum and not much out there on using the acetone dye. What type of coatings are appropriate over it?

Ones I had been considering previously to coat the stain:
HD-6600 which is an acrylic epoxy
H&C Solvent-based sealer

There is also a polyurethane stuff that folks have mentioned. I see the sealer as being the most important here, what would be best? This will be a DIY application (me and some friends) and quicker is better so I can start using the garage as it will be important to get my woodshop stationary tools set up so I can start putting the kitchen together.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[moparfreak]

Also, I wasn't planning on grinding the floor. What effect would this have on an acetone dye application.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Looked around the forum and not much out there on using the acetone dye. What type of coatings are appropriate over it?

Ones I had been considering previously to coat the stain:
HD-6600 which is an acrylic epoxy
H&C Solvent-based sealer

There is also a polyurethane stuff that folks have mentioned. I see the sealer as being the most important here, what would be best? This will be a DIY application (me and some friends) and quicker is better so I can start using the garage as it will be important to get my woodshop stationary tools set up so I can start putting the kitchen together.

Thanks,
Adam

Here are the Legacy Industrial offerings in ascending order of price/performance:
HD6600, 2 coats
Standard Clear Epoxy Sealer, 2 coats
Standard Clear Epoxy Sealer, 2 coats, 1 topcoat HD356VOC urethane
Xtreme Polyaspartic 80-SL, 2 coats

All are ok for DIY.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[busyallthetime]

I am in the same boat, I like the acid stained look but I'm going for a grey color. If I were to lay down a light grey acetone dye and follow it with a diluted black acid stain would that create a so called marbled effect? Can dye be applied in a manner to yield a marbled effect?

What would be my best option given my desired outcome? I'm not quite sure how to put it without coming off rude when I don't intend to be, but the photo posted above looks to me as a less than stellar attempt to blend light and dark colors. It looks like the darker color was sprayed on and that's all, unless that is the look they were going for.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

busy: USe the acetone dye exclusively. If you want to try a blend the acid stain needs to go down first as the residual dye will inhibit the acid stain reaction.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[724tim]

Folks,

So I'm fairly confident that I'm going to be going with an acid stain with sealer for my upcoming garage, but I'm looking for options for the acid stain. I've come across H&C, Concrete Camoflage and of course Legacy. What are some other reputable sources? THe main factors are color choices available (looking for gray/blueish stain colors), price and convenience of obtaining the stain.

ANywhere else I should be looking?

Thanks,
Adam

Adam,
Try this link they have some blue colors.
http://www.radonseal.com/color-sealer/color-sealer.htm

 

[moparfreak]

I had not come across Radonseal. Looks interesting. I've done a lot of research on the topic but not come across a Polyester / Polyurethane tinted sealer. What properties do you get with this type of stain? Does it require a sealer if you don't care about getting the wet / gloss look?

 

[724tim]

I don't think you need to seal it unless you want the gloss look they sale sample bottles to try.
This is ocean blue sprayed with an old glass cleaner bottle that's why it looks blotchy , I just was looking to see how the color looked.

 

[artisticrocks]

Hi Adam, I own a decorative concrete company and would be happy to help clear some things up.

1. First off do not grind your floor, but you do need to clean the floor thoroughly and lightly acid wash it with a dilution of 10% acid to 90% water. Mop afterwards and once dry then use the acetone dye as recommended above by Legacy. When spraying you need to start spraying in a bucket and finish spraying in a bucket! (This is very important)

2. Second, the beauty of dye is that it drys within 2 minutes if you are not using H&C. Apply a slightly different color to create the desired modeling but only spray at 60% coverage. Now do a third coat with a 30-40% coverage spray.

3. You will need to neutralize the floor, we simply run a floor scrubber with a white pad over the floor.

4. Now seal the floor. This can be the most difficult decision. Do not use an acrylic sealer unless you have an airless sprayer because if you roll an acrylic it will reactivate the dye and give you roller lines. If you use an epoxy then you can go right over the acetone dye with a roller. I would not recommend a polyaspartic unless you have experience with it. (Legacy above had good choices for you above; I would find your local supplier)

Brian

Artistic Impressions
New Braunfels, Texas

 

[moparfreak]

So, I tried out a sample of concrete dye from Direct-Colors since they sell small quantities. Tried the Stormy Gray color and used an aerosol (Preval brand) sprayer to just get a feel for how it looks. And, I'm very underwhelmed. Not sure if it's the color choice, or what. When I compared the dyed portion to the undyed it was like "blah" next to "blah". Wondering if I go this route that I'd need to pick something that has some more character to it...

I put it on a paver which is certainly less smooth than a floor would be so maybe most of the dye just soaked down into it rather than showing on the surface, but still. I expected to see a bit more impact.

Back to the drawing board. Still considering:

- acrylic semi-transparents + solvent based saler
- Lastiseal tinted stain + sealer
- Acid stain + solvent based sealer
- Acetone dye (but maybe a higher impact color)

I think I've put more time of investigating into this than I will have to apply it, feeling like I might just buy a gallon of **** from the BB and throw it on, hope for the best. When all the higher end products cost $75+ / gallon (and I need to cover 1300 sqft) I really want to know it's worth it and that I can apply it to get results I want.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Any dye/stain will not show it's true colors until sealed.
Wet the area with water. It will simulate a topical sealer.

See what you get.

Also...
buying a gallon of **** and hoping for the best is never a good idea.

 

[Andybull]

Any dye/stain will not show it's true colors until sealed.
Wet the area with water. It will simulate a topical sealer.

See what you get.

Also...
buying a gallon of **** and hoping for the best is never a good idea.

Fro an exterior concrete driveway, is there an acid stain that does not require to be sealed?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

No sir. Even concrete that is colored integrally requires sealing or you will fade the color.