New Concrete

If pouring fresh concrete that is intended for concrete staining, be sure to have a few sample size pieces made at the same time to use for testing later. A great complement to the sample pieces of concrete are concrete stain sample kits allowing you to try out our stain before making a larger investment.

Also when pouring new concrete, be sure to use NO curing agents. To check for curing agents, get down on the concrete and scrape it with a pocket knife. Curing agent will usually scrape off like a waxy substance.

When doing New Construction, when should I stain the concrete?

Many people do it prior to drywall because they don't want to have to put up tape and plastic to protect the walls, doors, cabinets, etc.. But then they have to cover the floors and protect them throughout construction and plan on at least re-waxing afterward.

Others do it after construction so they don't have to worry with re-waxing or cleaning up messes, but they still need to cover and protect the floor during construction to prevent damage and spills on the concrete.

Old Concrete

Concrete that is very old, has been sanded or grinded will reduce the coverage of the stain and the sealer.

Acid Washing, Why To Avoid

Most acid stain brands do not recommend being used once a slab has been acid washed or acid etched. Concrete Camouflage is one of the only brands still capable of staining an acid washed or acid etched slab, though it is still highly advised that you DO NOT acid wash or acid etch your concrete.

What Not To Do

Do not allow markers and especially not red chalk to be used on the concrete. It is in the chalk lines that are used by the different construction trades. Insist that they use blue chalk instead, as blue will wash off later and red will not.

Can I use Tape when covering the floor?

Never ever apply any type of tape to the floor. If you apply tape prior to staining it'll leave glue residue and also pull up the top of the concrete just enough to leave a line and be noticeable.

If you apply it after staining, it'll peel the sealer with it as it bonds to the sealer stronger than sealer can bond to the floor, creating a blemish that needs fixed. So never ever-ever apply tape of any kind directly to the floor, ever, no matter what.

If you cover with cardboard or sheathing, you can tape cardboard, etc., to itself but not the floor. You can also use large tarps to cover with.

How To Get More Color

You can do multiple coats of stain. You can only darken though.

When doing more than one coat of stain, there is no need to wash the residue between coats, just ensure the concrete has completely dried.

You can sometimes get a lighter version of the color by diluting the stain with water. Doing an additional coat of stain will darken it.

Another Thing, Is The Finish.

Inside a nice smooth finish will be fine, just don't overdo it as too tight of a slab makes it harder for the stain to penetrate which may lead to needing to do an additional coat of stain. Outside a broom finish will be better for traction though it will have more of a stone like appearance, as where a rock salt finish will give you more of a marble look.

Why Is My Stained Concrete a Different Color

Disregard the color of the acid stain in the bottle, when it is applied to the concrete, and during the drying stage. You will not know what color it will actually be until the reaction time has passed, and the residue which hides the real color has been washed.

Acid stain works by soaking into the pores of the concrete, and reacting chemically with the cements, lime, and minerals that are already present in the concrete and randomly dispersed at the time the concrete was poured. Therefore each stain color will be unique to that particular slab of concrete.

If you were to pour stain out of the same bottle onto 10 different slabs of concrete, then you would have 10 different versions of that color. This is the beauty of acid stain and also why you must always do a test in an out of the way place.