Stained & Dyed Concrete

There seems to be a lot of confusion among individuals as to the difference between many of the different decorative concrete processes and stained concrete is often one of them. Many seem to think polished concrete and stained concrete are one in the same, when in fact, they are far from it.

Polished Concrete, as explained on the polished concrete page, is the process of mechanically polishing the concrete floor so it will accept color, and then polishing concrete surface tight to bring out a truly shiny and brilliant color. Stained concrete on the other hand is the art of chemically staining the color of the concrete, and then using a topical sealer to create the shine that polished concrete receives mechanically.

Stained Concrete falls into three categories.

Each process creates a little different look, and each have there application places in decorative concrete. Each method is coated with a topical solvent based sealer to bring out the color and character of the floor.

Acid Stain

Generally earth tone colors. Reacts with lime in the concrete to produce color. Finally color can only be ballparks, it is a natural reaction between the acid and concrete. Producing a unique look, that can never be re-created exactly on any floor.

Water Based Stain

Water based stains can produce similar outcomes of acid stain floors. The application methods with water based stains very depending on the look the client is trying to achieve.

Concrete Dye's

Concrete Dye’s can produce similar results to acid stain, but it is more consistent in color. The original reason for the creation of Dye’s in the concrete industry was to be used over acid stains if the client wanted to tone up, or down a floor. It is widely used in the decorative concrete field now independently as a coloring agent.