Concrete staining

After watching too much HGTV, I am interested in the concrete staining they do. The concrete I want to stain is outside walkways, which has nearly a broom finish. I guess you could say it is one step smoother than a broom finish. Nowhere near the slick finish on interior concrete floors.

Give me some info, hints, tips, and sites re: concrete staining.

Done it? Like it? PITA? Easy? Cost?

STeve

Reply to
SteveB
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dags. it's been talked about a lot, and there's plenty of sites around about it.

Reply to
Charles Spitzer

Reply to
The Data Rat

"SteveB" wrote in news:ayzzb.58241$kl6.7629@fed1read03:

Steve,

I stained the concrete floors on my 2 rental units, and it came out really well. The concrete wasn't even near in perfect condition. There was tile on it before, marks all over, etc. 2 coats of stain later, it looked like old marble. It left me wishing I had concrete floors in my house to stain.

I used Kemiko

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and would highly recommend it. You spray on with a garden sprayer, let sit, and wash off. It had a chemical reaction with the concrete to change the color; it doesn't simply "paint" it.

As a final note, I used the Cola color, with 2 coats of Kemiko's sealer for a nice shine. I would do some thinking about using the sealer if it was an outside application, and it seems like it might get a little slick.

Total cost: About $150 for both units.

Good luck.

Ryan

Reply to
The Chairman

Did you put a thin layer of something over the concrete to make it smooth and level? Mine is kind of smooth in places, rough in others and has a few chips here and there.

Snip

Steve,

Reply to
The Data Rat

There are several places to get information.

One good one:

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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

Reply to
DanG

"The Data Rat" wrote in news:n8Rzb.39812$yM6.31156@lakeread06:

I left the concrete as-is. Being that I was leaving the concrete floors in the house, and not tiling, I liked the rough look of it. If it was too jagged to walk on comfortably, I suppose I would have ground that part smooth, but otherwise the sealer did a nice job of giving it a finished look.

Reply to
The Chairman

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