Anyone else ever stain their concrete?

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

We poured our new patio last week (Tuesday) and went with a "rock salt finish" to texturize the concrete and prevent slipping on wet concrete. On Saturday, we applied the Smith Color Floor water-based concrete stain called "dark Adobe". Here's a pic of the patio after the first coat...

After the second coat...

We may apply a third coat. We have to wait 30 days before we apply the matte finish sealer. So far, we like the effect and it looks nice against the brick on the house and contrasts the white vinyl siding. Anyone else ever stain their concrete (intentionally)?

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Here's a better picture to give you the "big picture" view...

TimothyFarrar · 07-03-2007, 08:30 AM

I haven't yet, but I am looking for a good black or dark gray stain or enamel, know of anything good?

mattdavis11 · 07-03-2007, 08:31 AM

I stained the concrete floor in the kitchen of my old home. I went with storm green. It looked great. I don't have any pictures of it though, sorry.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Timothy,
Here is the product we used. It was easy and produced the results we were looking for... (inexpensive, too).

http://www.smithpaints.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=75

rexav8r · 07-03-2007, 08:38 AM

I don't have any pictures of it right now, but John Dixon stained the concrete floors in 2 of the big rooms at his Taj Ma Garaj, and it looks AWESOME ! It turned out with a fairly dark marbled gray finish. Even the parts where newer concrete filler was used to fill in some holes, it looks good.

Maybe Erik McKenna or Flyer88 can get a photo or two...

Superman · 07-03-2007, 08:57 AM

I work in the construction industry, and some of the things they are doing with concrete are incredible. They can make concrete look like anything you want. You know that place they call Las Vegas where they have all those marble and granite and various other exotic surfaces? Think again.........

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Yep, the recent advancements in stain, especially the non-acid stains is incredible. It's easy to apply and get the effect you're looking for, it's just a little scary because once the stain has been applied, there's no going back!

kwm · 07-03-2007, 09:16 AM

My wife ran over a can of spray paint with her new GTi and it EXPLODED like a grenade all over the drive and the car (white on a idigo blue car). Somehow I got it all off the car but no mater what I tried it would not come off the driveway. I stained it with Olympic stain in new concrete grey. Almost every neighbor I have asked me how many thousands I paid to resurface my drive. My neighbor had a concrete countertop in there kitchen and yhea it looks really good.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

The 1st coat was applied with a roller and I put it on pretty heavy and I didn't like the roller lines left behind when it dried, but then my wife took a coarse and fine bristle brush and applied the 2nd coat, giving it a more mottled appearance, which is what we were trying to achieve. Once we put the sealer on (7/26), it will be a little darker and shinier, but I chose a matte finish sealer instead of the high gloss finish. Very cool stuff!

kwm · 07-03-2007, 09:19 AM

A black metal railing would look great around it. Whatayathink?

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

kwm,
Funny, but my father said the same thing when he saw the patio yesterday. It's a small patio (11' x 22') so I don't want to close it in, but we may do some small black railing accents... We're getting a crank-out awning installed in about 2 weeks, so it will be shady. I never had a patio before and I really like it.

kwm · 07-03-2007, 09:52 AM

Yhea I have a elevated wood deck that looks out over my neighborhood and I love it. I grill out like 3 or 4 times a week almost all year round. The problem with those metal railings (and I have never done one yet but I am doing one around my front proch wich is brick) is that I am guessing they are hard to install. Everytime it comes to me anchoring something in brick things dont go well. I tried to ahng shutters on brick this summer and it didnt go too well.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

kwm,
Yep, you need to get the right anchors and then epoxy them into the concrete to properly anchor anything. You have to be careful not to chip or crack the concrete. I have used my neighbor's Bosch hammerdrill with the Bosch Titanium bit to drill into the concrete to install the anchor, then epoxy it in. It's great to have a homebuilder as my next-door neighbor!

TimothyFarrar · 07-03-2007, 10:31 AM

Art, thanks for the link!

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by azasadny
Anyone else ever stain their concrete?

Yup. Not on purpose, though.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

CJ,
SimpleGreen will get rid of that stain (if it's oil, brake or tranny fluid). Just spray it on as it comes out of the bottle, let it dry and wait for the next heavy rain to rinse it off (it's non-toxic and biodegradable), repeat as necessary. Don't ask me how I know this... I'm trying to put the unfortunate incident of the 1st oil change on the 911 out of my memory...

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

It's tranny fluid. Thanks, I'll give it a try.

TerryH · TerryH's Garage

Art, I really like that look. Drab old gray concrete gets old quick. Makes it look like sandstone. Very nice.

Evans, Marv · 07-03-2007, 08:37 PM

Does anybody know how the stain holds up in high traffic areas over time? I've heard it tends to wear and appears lighter after awhile in high use areas. The reason I'm asking is I will be having the concrete for my patio & entry stamped and stained or done with a top layer of colored concrete. If the stain shows wear over time, I'll go for a colored concrete.