What is Acid Stain?

Acid Stain is not a paint or coating agent, rather, it's a coloring process involving a chemical reaction on a cementitious material. A solution made with water, acid and inorganic salts reacts with minerals already present in the concrete, the result of this reaction is color. It works very well on new or old concrete, and we've seen impressive results over decorative polymer overlays as well as self-leveling products. Acid Stain is a very durable product if properly protected with sealer or wax, and it can be applied to both interiors and exteriors.

What makes Acid Stain so attractive? Acid Stain gives concrete a mottled, variegated, marble like look. It creates beautiful colors on concrete, mostly earth tone browns, reddish browns and greens. You can also create your own shades by mixing and matching your available colors, or applying them at different rates. Never expect Acid Stain to be uniform or have an even tone, you'll get different reactions from slab to slab, and even on the same job you may see different coloration patterns.

Not every concrete floor is eligible for Acid Stain, though age is not an issue, the shape it's in is. A smooth concrete surface will yield more attractive results than an old worn one. If the concrete is spalled, the aggregate is exposed or has previously been acid etched, the stain may not "take in" and will not look as desired because the aggregate does not react with the stain, only materials in the concrete paste do. On some applications where the surface is textured, as in stamped concrete or stamped overlays, Acid Stain provides even more depth of color, larger selection and realtistic look to the surface.

You can go from a simple design to a very sophisticated project. The more complicated your design, the more labor intensive it will become, but the end results are simply stunning. After the Acid Stain is applied, the floor should be sealed and/or waxed to project the stain and add shine and depth.