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Been doing concrete for 50 years,never liked acids,like you said,you never know what color it’s going to be. My product of choice for coloring is the Smiths water based colors,I’ve had absolutely good luck with the product and the people I’ve done it for really like the distressed look on the slabs. You did a great job of pleasing the customer on this one.

I do this for a living as well and you pretty much nailed it. Yes, that old slab has zero Portland left on the surface so you're basically staining the fine aggregate. Looked great when finished!!

We have always premeasured a bucket, marked the level, and cut a hole in the bucket at that line. Usually about a 1” square. Then we fill a garbage can full of water. Set a board across the edge of the garbage can to set the bucket on. Then you just dip the bucket to fill it up and it will drain to your exact measurement every time. It’s really fast and very consistent. We kept the buckets and makes them for the material we uses with them and the measurement. Then you’ll have a bucket labeled “Quikrete 60 pounds/1 gallon.

I have added paint to the sealer to enhance colors in the past. I've added paint to concrete to put some color in it while pouring. Adding paint to the sealer seems to have the most dramatic effect.

I tint my sealer with dissolved antique release powder. and skip the acetone phase. nice job on this slab

Have a driveway about 8 years old, while building pool cement truck broke part of it! So have driveway 2 different color would you suggest this or thoughts? Thank you great video!

Nice work

Hello, thanks for this great video. I have a question. We have our house recently done by a contractor, and they colored the concrete by a adding oxide pigments to the mix (to make it burgundy-ish). They did not apply any sealer. I was unaware that I couldn't use white vinegar on concrete (whoops!) and now there's a segment of it that is a lighter colour (so far I managed to hide it mixing flax oil with the pigment and applying on the floor). On top of that, the corners of the room are now fading to a lighter colour. I wanted to know if by using acid stain I'd be able to get an even colour in the whole room or if it would react differently according to the base colour. Else, would you suggest an epoxy coat? Thanks a lot !!

How do you hide repairs before staining?

There was Behr concrete stain put on indoor floor. Essentially paint. Could we stain over that? Or would we have to sand it off?

Suggestion: when pouring from the can, have the spot at the top. Less gurgling and splashing. Works with antifreeze as well. Even though you won’t head this far north to Southern MD. 😆😆😆 I still enjoy the videos.

Have you ever used cem-coat by brickform stain?

Great videos 👍. What's the brand of the red sprayer please?

Why the cracks not fix?

how do i clean it thoo theres food steps every were

Good Work, I do the same in California. I can tell you save time and arm pump, there are nice constant pressure backpack pumps they work great, and they hold up to 4 gallons.

NICE!

How are u able to spray Acetone through a pump sprayer without melting the o-rings etc ? Thx great video

I don't seem to be able to find the links to the products you use. Thank you for an excellent video.

Why wouldn’t you just use the acetone dye w/o the acetone d staining?

tape off the wall stone so the edges r straight and crisp. use duct tape and remove when dry. it works and is a better looking job.

How much acetone you add to the product?

Newly subbed! Tik tok brought me here.. Great content 👍

Whatd you quote them for this job

Much better job with the dye

What happens when the acid stain doesn’t react to the concrete or stain it? What you do at that point?

15 years ago I honed my concrete, used wood stain then sealed it. It looks perfect to this day.

I work in the field of epoxy floor paint

You can keep that acid stain nothing but a pain to work with every substrate is different it depends on the pour of the concrete so many challenges when doing acid stain and when you have to rinse and neutralize you doing nothing but put moisture in the concrete

It almost looks like either the color selected was the issue, or the yield was too high. 1 gallon of decent stuff can do about 400 sq ft to my knowledge. Correct me if I'm wrong.

How would you remove this acid wash??? Anyone?

Why did you have to neutralize the first stain but not the second one..

My wife is wanting to do our house that we are remodeling but I don’t have a clue how to. It also has tile down now 🤦‍♂️

The metallic salts in the acid stain need to react with the hydrated lime in the concrete. Your slab had seen better days when it had the top layer, or paste that carries the hydrated lime. That is why your client liked the new concrete, not the old. A water based stain would have produced a better application. Acids stains as well as dyes, or water based stains are never similar to chip boards, or manufactures samples unless you have a decent concrete slab, or a overlayment that is white, or gray. Concrete also varies in density which will also affect the outcome. Acid stains are a chemical reaction which showcase variances for that particular reason, where as water based stains are topical acrylics that requires artistic application to showcase variances, and dyes are typical for detailing designs that require caution when being applied, especially indoors. Acetone dyes evap quickly and for any project can get very expensive. Fix the cracks.

do you have a course or one on one on some marketing and finding customers strategies? Id gladly buy all my supplies from a distributor willing to offer some advise , when Im starting out without a huge marketing budget,

You didn't use enough. Soak that concrete. I didn't dilute mine either. It was my first time and it turned out awesome. I could see it turn colors in 20 minutes. Maybe I just got lucky but it was easier then doing other flooring.

Summary: Dye (unevenly applied, intentionally) compensates for the underwhelming effect of the acid stain.

that's some serious dookie man, and boy that acetone smells good ! (and that musical accompaniment sounds forboding).

Come on thats basic 101 with acid stains and alkalinity in old concrete .. this is why I use water based for the past 15 years

why do you both not need a mask while you are doing this....dangerous fumes or not?

fill the cracks mate!!!! looks half done

#1 Amateur problem. That entire pad needed be power sanded or grinded or a bare minimum, etched. #2 Amateur problem. Not doing a small test spot.

Wow It’s really a gamble when you use “hope” early in the project You do excellent work Don’t you love when a customer has a major event in 3 days and the owner doesn’t really know

A lot of people wouldn't go the extra step to try and get it closer. The customer was told the potential issues, so it's not their problem. Hopefully they appreciate it.

why not fix the cracks?

Damn glad the owner wasn’t a woman while you’re dealing with colors!

I work in the field of epoxy floor paint