Lets talk about staining concrete

[spotco2]

We are having a new 16x45 patio poured in a couple of weeks and nobody wants to look at naked concrete. My wife thinks it will look like a driveway against the back of the house and wants some color on it. She wants something in a light brown family. Please keep in mind this will be an uncovered slab.

I've been searching and it looks like acid staining is going to be the way to go but obviously I have questions.

Do I need a vapor barrier under the slab to keep ground moisture from coming up and messing with the stain later on?

Do I need to etch a fresh slab with a light broom finish?

Any brands of products that people have had good luck with and any to stay away from?

Pics of finished projects would be great to show her.

 

[Toolfool]

I've used Kemiko products. Easy to follow directions. You can combine colors. Base color and splashes of another color.Vapor barrier would not hurt. Broom finish is good. Let concrete cure .Use UltraSeal for top coat. I just did slabs for generator and propane tank with some leftover product.

 

[spotco2]

.. Let concrete cure ...

How long to let cure?

That looks nice.

 

[Toolfool]

How long to let cure?

That looks nice.

Those two slabs were kept wet for about 5 days, then waited three weeks before doing Kemico neutralizing wash, let dry, stain. If in direct sunlight, you want to do each step first thing in the morning.
The stain gets mixed with water 50/50. Put down with acid-proof pump sprayer. For the highlights I mix some 'cola' color in an empty water bottle, drill a small hole in the cap and squirt onto slab on top of base coat. The big 'splashes' are small amounts in a dixie cup, then 'dumped' from about 4' high.
I also do 4-5 coats of UltraSeal. Short nap roller. By the time you finish first coat, you can go back and start second coat.
Let me know if you have more questions.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

DeltaDye Concrete Stain, Red Oak, sealed with HD6600-MMA. No UV fade or black-out (acid stains are subject to) .


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[Chris705]

You Will need to redo the sealer every year or two or it will begin to look really drab... only negative about it. Otherwise it is a nice alternative to plain looking concrete.

 

[PNWguy]

I think that if any of the vendors had really good color charts, their sales would go up.
I've given up on staining my concrete because of the lack of info. I'm not willing to spend big bucks on a product if I can't tell what the actual color is going to be, and there's very limited space to test the colors on (under the kitchen cabinets). It's a permanent color change - I want to have a pretty good idea of what it'll look like before I do the work.

But if I've missed any good one, please let me know.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

I think that if any of the vendors had really good color charts, their sales would go up.
I've given up on staining my concrete because of the lack of info. I'm not willing to spend big bucks on a product if I can't tell what the actual color is going to be, and there's very limited space to test the colors on (under the kitchen cabinets). It's a permanent color change - I want to have a pretty good idea of what it'll look like before I do the work.

But if I've missed any good one, please let me know.

PnW, e-mail us and we will send you a printed chart.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[spotco2]

Since this is outside and will likely not be covered, do I need a vapor barrier under the concrete since we plan on staining?

 

[Toolfool]

Answered in my first post.

 

[larry_g]

[/url]

[/url]

Above you can see what we did with our patio. We put in a colored and stamped walkway and retaining wall. Then put the regular concrete in around it. It is still ok 10 years later but has faded some as I do not reseal it like I should. I also would not do the textured stamping like I did, The 'slate' texture leaves small depressions that retain water and dirt (mud).

On the good side only coloring and texturing a portion of the patio we saved a bunch of money. The colored path connects the back steps with the path leading to the shop.

Another thread on the subject, https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152016

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Ralf11]

why not use colored concrete?

 

[48windsor]

why not just do colored concrete

 

[spotco2]

... We put in a colored and stamped walkway and retaining wall. Then put the regular concrete in around it. ...

That looks great. Thanks for sharing.

why not use colored concrete?

why not just do colored concrete

The concrete company wants to much money for that and will not guarantee any particular color only that it will be colored (might be much lighter or darker than requested). I've seen some of their colored concrete before and it did not look like it was colored at all.