concrete stain vs. dye

[pancho400cid]

Hey all:

Not the garage but I see lots of guys have stained / dyed concrete so wanted to get some info.

I'm knee deep in a bedroom remodel. The house was built in the 50's and the concrete seems pretty dark. We have removed the accumulated decades of pain spatter and carpet glue.

Is there a a way to lighten the concrete any? Would using "light grey" dye instead of stain be a good idea?

The wife would like a light gray stained look, with a high gloss finish. I did my son's room using acid stain a few years back and it came out great. Any suggestions welcome. We are trying to do this ourselves without going to nuts. I would much prefer not grinding, etc but will listen to any input.

Below are before and after preliminary cleaning shots. Yes - I know the tile in the closet was asbestos type. Yes - It was removed and disposed of properly

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

light gray? go acetone dye. That floor might not work with acid and there is no "gray".
Email me for a color chart if you need it, for the dye.

 

[My Old Tools]

Acid stains for concrete are iffy on old floors. Grinding it helps, but you still likely won't get the results you get on new concrete. What about epoxy paint?

 

[collmorgen]

I did two bedrooms in my house. After getting the carpet up I used a buffer/sander on the floor and got everything up that I could. You WON'T get everything up but I was going for an antique look. I mopped, acid stained, neutralized, mopped and mopped and then sealed.

I think they look good but it's the look that I was going for. It's cheap.