Stain Your Concret With Ease
Sunday, October 25th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
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. However, before you get started with a staining project, here are a few things you should keep in mind.
There are two types of concrete stains to choose from, acid stains and acrylic stains. Acid stains are caused by the chemical reaction with free lime on the surface and give a translucent floor with natural looks.They create a mottled, variegated, multi-hued coloring.Every concrete surface reacts differently to acids stains making each job unique. 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. Acrylic stains help you to camouflage defects or discolorations of the floor, but acid stains may make them somewhat conspicuous.
Acid and acrylic stains work equally good on many of the floors and you have to choose one, depending on the kind of looks you wish to have.
However, there are situations where one type will work better than the other. For older, exterior concrete (more than 15-20 yrs old) acid stains may not work because much of the free lime has leeched away. 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. If the concrete is already in need of repairs and requires a bit of patch work or scaling, it will be good to use acrylic stains as it helps to disguise repairs. Any patching materials will stand out with acid stains. Smooth trowel led interior surfaces with less porosity give better results on being treated with acid stains that do not require so much penetration for coloring the concrete.
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