In the end we were left with a surface that was far from perfectly smooth but that we knew would work for the look we were going for.
Acid painted concrete floor.
Acid based stain and water based stain.
These solutions are for etching the concrete.
Mix 3 to 4 parts water with 1 part acid or follow label instructions for a 10 concentration 15 for hard smooth concrete.
Acid based stain the color palette is more limited but the stain typically lasts longer than water based so it s the best solution for high traffic areas.
Step 2 buff the concrete surface.
There are two types of products you can use for staining concrete floors.
If your painted concrete floors scratch touch up with concrete floor paint and epoxy paint.
Acid based and water based stains.
How to repaint concrete floors.
Acid etching solutions or stains are a different look take more time and skill to transform your floors completely.
As with floor paints there are two primary types of floor stains from which to choose.
Our floor required a mixture of grinding filling divots with concrete crack filler using acid cleaners filling and leveling out tension breaks in our floor sanding and scraping.
Rather than coating the floor in one entire color concrete stains create a pigmented marbled effect.
For many years it was a standard method of concrete preparation used by nearly all industrial commercial and institutional floor coating installers depending on the floor size and system to be installed.
You can rent a floor buffer from a hardware supply store.
If the concrete surface is painted or sealed acid stains cannot penetrate the concrete and react with the lime.
Doing the prep work before you repaint a concrete floor avoids a peeling paint job later.
Floor and concrete stains are usually easier to apply than paints but they require more frequent reapplication to keep looking fresh.
Acid etching is the process of applying hydrochloric muriatic or buffered phosphoric acid to a slab then rinsing it off with water.
Here are the pros and cons of each.
Solid colors borders or stencils are great tools for painting concrete floors.
Painting concrete floors finishes.
If you re just removing mineral deposits efflorescence use a much weaker mix 10 1 or 16 1 for muriatic acid.
Concrete paint can be purchased in either latex or oil based epoxy enamel.
It also won t fade peel or chip.
Therefore a concrete surface that is painted or sealed cannot be acid stained.
The chemical stains or acid stains react with the concrete s lime content and produce the color.
Allow the cleaned surface to dry.
A moist surface isn t ideal for further cleaning or painting.
A floor buffer is a fast moving high powered machine.
Before you can apply a concrete paint clean it with degreasers to get rid of any oil or grease stains followed by muriatic acid to remove any curing chemicals on the concrete s surface.