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Acid Stained Concrete Vs. Dyes and Tints

While most people are happy with a natural coloured concrete slab, some opt for a more brilliant colour or just a slight change in the tone of grey and light beige’s that are naturally occurring when polishing and/or sealing concrete.

Acid Stains

In the past, the most common way to change the colour of a concrete slab was to do an acid stain or acid wash.

Acid stains require a lot of labor and immense amounts of water to be introduced into the slab in order to carry the acid and the resulting reaction that occurs when the acid and concrete properties meet.
Acid Stained Concrete Vs. Dyes and Tints colour chart
While this technique is time tested and proven, it does present certain issues such as adding a lot of moisture to a slab that is  going to be sealed next.

Using water to penetrate and stain a concrete slab means that the slab will have to dry for many days prior to a sealer being applied. Even when using a water-based sealer, there is a certain risk that is being taken when applying it to a floor that was recently wet or damp. The sealer could flake off or be weaker in the long run. Also, if you require an impact resistant floor or wish to finish with a coating such as an epoxy or a polyaspartic, the floor must be grinded first prior to being sealed.

When doing an acid stain, this is not necessarily the best outcome as grinding the floor prior to staining it will reduce its ability to take on a new colour

Concrete DyesAcid Stained Concrete Vs. Dyes and Tints 1

Decorative concrete dyes and concrete dye systems have come a long way and, in our opinion have replaced acid stains as the go-to product to use for staining concrete that will be sealed or polished.

These decorative dye systems are first sprayed down on the floor and either scrubbed in or left to dry. There is no need to neutralize them with large amounts of water or neutralizing agents. This means that, the floor can be polished or sealed on the same day that it was stained.

Another advantage to using concrete dyes as opposed to concrete acid stains is that the colour is much more predictable because there is no requirement for a chemical reaction in order to achieve the look that you are going for.

Concrete dyes can be used to change the overall colour of the floor but can also be used to create borders, accents, logos or really any other effects you may be going for.

If you would like more information about concrete dyes and stains, please contact us today to talk to one of our specialists.