99 Tips for Stained Concrete Floors

The idea of staining concrete is an idea that isn’t always as easy as it seems. If it were as easy as just applying the same as it was a hardwood floor that would be one thing. It’s just never that easy. Below are some Tips for Stained Concrete floors.

Preparing a concrete slab or a concrete surface is what makes the staining process more challenging. Here are some tips I can pass to you based on the few million square feet of staining I have done.

Concrete Floors Stained

Preparation

• Each concrete slab has its unique challenges. Concrete staining can be slightly unpredictable. Some people like the randomness some people don’t.
• Concrete floors staining is a rustic industrial look most of the time. If slab porosity is consistent and tone of concrete is consistent sometimes the results will be consistent too.
• Before applying the stain to an interior concrete floor one must remove all Bond Breakers that may be present.
• This can include carpet mastic, thin-set, dust and oils if you can get them out. Many times this involves prepping the concrete surface.
• In many cases, a floor may require patching. Areas where tack strip holes are cracks and other damage they require patching material.
• It’s very difficult to match the existing concrete tone with a patch material tone color. Concrete color is a determinate of where the sand and aggregate was mined from. Patch material may have a different porosity then existing concrete surface.

We may dye the floor at different levels and depending on the porosity of the slab stains may still be present once the concrete has been mechanically ground we must clean the floor.

We want to get all the rest of the dust off the floor with a mop or using auto scrubber this helped open the pores and get any contaminants out of the concrete. Some people recommend etching the concrete with some type of acid.

I don’t recommend using acid cleaners on the floor especially if you’re planning on using an acid stain. If you initially that’s the concrete with muriatic acid then this will inhibit the chemical reaction that normally occurs when acid stain concrete.

Stain Choices

Once you have your stain color chosen you can start with stain process. I’m not a big fan of water-based stains either. Usually, if a stain is water base it means one of two things.

 

A) The stain is a water-based product that is actually an acrylic or a coating. This is not a penetrating stain but it filmed based coating.

 B) If it’s a true water-based stain or Dye this usually means that water is being used as the carrier or the stain. In my opinion, water is

not a good carrier of what concrete stain. Solvents carry dyes or stains deeper into the surface then water could ever absorb.

 

Concrete dyes offer the best quality solution that I’ve seen for stained floors.

 

 

Applying Concrete Stain

 

• Masking the walls is very important with plastic sheeting to protect the rest of the building from the stained concrete. To achieve the colored concrete we use specialty pump sprayers to apply the first coat of stain. We may mop the stain into the floor it is circular motion if the product calls for that in some cases that may not be a good idea.
• Whether you’re using a Dye or an acid stain there will probably be a residue that needs to be cleaned up. In the case of a dye, you might use an auto scrubber. In the case of an acid stating you must first neutralize the floor with ammonia or some type of alkaline product just stop the chemical reaction. Then you must clean up all the residue and get the floor clean again.
• The floor must be totally dry before moving to the next step. It’s not a good idea to just simply stain a floor it must also be sealed. I tend to favor polish concrete type Solutions because of their penetrating sealers. If someone recommends to you and acrylic type film base sealer I would avoid them.

 

Sealer Choice

 

• Not only are acrylics risky but they’re usually not very durable. Most manufacturers would recommend a surface profile of a number three before coating the floor with a sealer.
• This surface profile would have had to be achieved at concrete prep. The danger of applying an acrylic sealer to a surface that is improperly prepared is delamination. Film base-stealers need 2 absorb into the concrete.
• Applying an acrylic sealer to slick concrete floor it’s like applying paint to a window. There is zero adhesion.
• Another downside to applying a film based sealer the concrete after staining it is the risk hydrostatic pressure. Miny concrete slabs we’re not constructed with a vapor barrier under them. This means if the relative humidity from the room is out of balance with the humidity of the slab moisture May precipitate through the slab and the laminate your film based sealer.
• Polish Concrete flooring systems use penetrating sealers. These allow for the breathing of the slab. The durability of a polished and dyed concrete slab is much higher than most any coating.

 

 

 

Other Tips for Stained Concrete floors you should know before attempting the project

 

1.  Many times impossible to stain a concrete floor unless you have the proper preparation equipment.
2. It does take some knowledge to know proper tooling and how not to damage the floor during prep.
3.  Certain things and Floors mastics are oils are stains can inhibit the absorption of a stain on the concrete.
4. In many cases, a floor may have a curing agent that prevents stain penetration. This must be removed prior to work.
5. Stains or ghosting from old flooring systems may become present once the floor is stained or sealed. This ghosting they have a different porosity then not ghosted.
6. Acid stains have different concentrations.  The best practice is to cut your acid stain with water and ease into your tone. This will create less contrast between highs and lows variation of tone.
7. You can always go darker with a hotter Acid mix, you just can not go lighter. It’s best to dampen floor prior to applying these types of stains.
8. Avoid accidentally stepping on to acid stain area once sprayed. The last thing you need is a footprint across your floor that you didn’t notice. These are very hard to remove.
9. Be sure to have the room ventilated and wear a breather. This is especially important if you use ammonia to neutralize the acid. Breather mask doesn’t even work for ammonia. You can easily pass out if you are not careful.
10. Ventilation is also important if you using acetone dyes or solvent-based sealers. It is very dangerous 2 gas out a room. I know of people that have caused flash fires and burnt 90% of their body because of explosions on projects.
11. You must ensure ventilation airflow and turn off any pilot light in structure. Very important.
12. If using the film base sealer. Are you going to roll the sealer, or spray it? Do you know how to roll sealer in order to avoid roller marks?
13. Do you know what types of rollers are compatible with your sealer? Do you know how to prep a roller before rolling?
14. Is the stain compatible with the sealer you are using? Will the solvents in the sealer that you use strip stain in areas of the floor?
15. Are you making sure that your final finish is not slippery and conform to American Slip Standards? Are you planning to use an anti-slip in the sealer? Do you mind having little tiny pictures of sand grout the floor?
16. Can you wax that sealer to make it less slippery?

 

Tips for Stained Concrete floors by, Steve Williamson