Acid Staining a Garden Birdbath

Shawna applying deco gel concrete acid stain to a birdbath Liquid acid stain works great for large spaces. But how do you bring that beautiful color and texture to smaller projects, like statuary?

Direct Colors has come up with the perfect solution, Deco Gel. This is the only gelled acid stain mix available on the market today. We’ve used it to decorate a boring concrete bird bath, and you’ll get all the details below!

Shawna started with a pretty ugly gray concrete birdbath. She chose deco gel acid stain Malayan Buff and Coffee Brown Deco Gel to add color in a precise 2-tone design to give interest where the water will actually sit in the birdbath.

“Because the birdbath was shaped like a bowl, liquid acid stain was out of the question; it would just run to the middle of the bath. Instead we decided to go with a new product, Deco Gel. The beauty of this stuff, is you can really get artistic in small spaces. It won’t run all over the place like liquid acid stain.”

Direct Colors concrete deco gel applied to a birdbath in a thick layer with a foam brush for texture

“As usual, I did a surface preparation with a diluted de-greaser and let the surface dry thoroughly. Once everything was clean and ready to go, I laid the lid in the middle to maintain the circle shape I wanted. Around that, I applied the deco gel in a thick layer with a foam brush for texture.

“I left this to process four or five hours, Then we neutralized the gel and cleaned it up. After the deco gel, we did a light misting of Coffee Brown Acid Stain to give a little additional color on the surface.

“We’ll be using Sprayable Satin Finish Concrete Sealer, applied with a plastic pump-up sprayer. We always recommend a sprayable sealer for statuary and garden decor because they are so easy to use, and can completely coat small crevices and creases.”