DIY Stained Concrete
Of the many DIY projects one may undertake for home improvement, concrete staining is perhaps the most interesting and convenient that results to having better looking concrete floor.The alternatives, like epoxy, tearing out existing concrete and replacing with new or decorative overlays, are not recommended for do-it-yourselfers and can be very expensive. Some of the things you would do well to know before starting a staining project are mentioned herewith.
There are two types of concrete stains to choose from, acid stains and acrylic stains. Acid stains work by chemically reacting with free lime in the surface to produce a natural looking, translucent color. As a result of acid staining we get speckled multicolored and multihued surface. The interesting part is that as every concrete behaves differently to acids, the stains created on one floor can’t be reproduced on another floor. The outcome of acrylic stains is more consistent and imparts semi translucent color comparable to that of a dye because they are water borne pigments that seep thru pores and remain stuck to the surface of the floor. A very positive aspect of acrylic stains is that they help to conceal some of the defects or discoloration, but acid stains on the contrary, tend to highlight such limitations.
Generally, on most of the surfaces either kind of stains would work equally well, and depending your preferred looks you can choose one.
However, there are situations where one type will work better than the other. For example ten to fifteen years old exterior concrete that has already lost a good part of its free lime would not be able to retain acid stains. Under such circumstances acrylic stains will work very well because of its increased porosity over time. You can’t get this with epoxy paint. Newer concrete has enough of free lime and would give very good results with acid stains. A good feature of acrylic stains is that it will be able to conceal minor repairs like patches and scaling on an old floor. Any patching materials will stand out with acid stains. For smooth trowel led interior surfaces with less porosity, acid stains are usually better because they don’t require as much penetration to color the concrete.
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