Stained concrete questions

[tradrook]

My wife and I are going to have stained concrete done in our new home. We are looking at products now and leaning towards LastiSeal by Radon Seal. It's a water based stain and sealer combined. Any feedback on that brand or any others is welcomed.
My main question is in regards to color choice. We are looking mainly at the dark grey or the charcoal but would like to see more pictures of those colors in real application.
The other option that's intriguing to us is just sealing the natural concrete, no stain. We want something in the grey hue but aren't positive the natural is as dark as we want. With just sealing, some floors we have seen are ok, some are a little lighter than we want.
Looking to the GS for some help!

[lanceodom]

My experience is that you can look at the samples and pics all you want but your concrete will be different than the pics. That's not a bad thing. I have never had it turn out where I thought it was awful. Always pleasantly surprised.

[bboswell]

My experience is that you can look at the samples and pics all you want but your concrete will be different than the pics. That's not a bad thing. I have never had it turn out where I thought it was awful. Always pleasantly surprised.

This, actual outcome will be effected by the particular mix of your concrete.

PM Snowflakekilla for more info

[Arrowsmith]

We used Butterfield Color concrete stain. The Butterfield product we used was Sierra Stain reactive acid stain. The two colors we used were Kona Brown and Cordovan Leather. Our stain contractor mottled the two colors together as he stained the floor. After the stain dryed and cured he applied a clear polyurethane sealer. My wife applies a coat of Concrete Camouflage Top Shield floor wax once a year or when needed.

https://www.butterfieldcolor.com/product-category/concrete-stain/

https://www.concretecamouflage.com/cat-high-traffic-concrete-floor-wax.cfm

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[kingranch]

I did mine and used a kemiko product it was awesome and the natual color is almost what you describe... it kept the house brighter imo. I dont like the browns

https://www.kemiko.com/product/kemiko-stone-tone-stain/

[donpablo]

Does this have to be done when poured? Can it be stained when you pour? If so, is there a benefit to doing this when you pour as opposed to later? Sorry if these are dumb questions.

[MagicBlade]

Contact "Decorative Concrete Supply, Inc.
(817) 439-8884

https://www.decorativecs.com

They have multiple stores throughout Texas.
They can answer any questions you have!

[SaltwaterSlick]

THE GURU on concrete finishing is Snowflake Killa! PM him and he can either take care of your needs or just help you understand the process.

[bullets13]

We didn't know what we were doing, chose a dark brown, and it turned out just fine. When it needs to be polished and resealed it just gets a hair darker and duller, then we polish her up and it's as good as new. I'd make sure you talk to some folks that know what they're doing, but it's not rocket science either.

[LWC]

I would suggest going lighter color if you don't want to see as much dirt, etc.... Especially if you have pets. We did lighter in the house and darker on the porches outside. The darker shows so much more dirt. Dark looks good but it shows so much more dirt.

[tradrook]

Thanks for the replies!

[Paycheck]

We tried to do our new house our self. It did not stick. Did all that work and it just washed off. Use or get advise from a pro.

[Briar Friar]

Test stain a few colors. All concrete is different.

Im getting rid of carpet in rental houses and staining concrete in the bathrooms and common areas. I like a medium brown. Tumbleweed is our newest color Im trying to standardize. I tried a Jerusalem Brown that turned out to look like spicy mustard. I hated it. I ate the extra cost to scrape the seal and restain darker…some powdered acetone mix.

As a rule of thumb for design….go darker lower and go lighter as going higher in the room. A dark floor, medium cabinets and light walls will make a room appear larger than say…
Light floor, medium cabinets and dark walls will make a space seem smaller.

Ive paid contractors to sand and clear seal homebuilder contractor poured slabs and it didnt look really good until I used a grey epoxy garage floor paint from Lowes and painted a 4” stripe around the entire perimeter. The epoxy paint stripe transitionally framed the floor and made it pop.

Good luck MrRook.

[Brazos Hunter]

I would send you a picture of ours but they are all covered and sheetrock is being taped/floated.



Michael

[tradrook]

I appreciate the feedback. GS never disappoints. Any pics are welcomed with the color. I know ours will be different but I think seeing others will give us a ballpark idea of what to expect. We will be getting some samples to trial once we have everything poured and cured for about a month. The company we are leaning towards sells a prep mixture of some sort designed to get the pH set and surface texture within the suggested range for the stain to adhere.