Direct Colors has everything you need for small concrete projects like garden décor, statuary, cultured stone and more.

Create beautiful colors and artistic creations with Deco Gel gelled acid stain, concrete acid stain or concrete pigment.

Visit the customer photo gallery for inspiration and give our customer service technicians a call!

We can help you make almost any project idea a reality any time of the year! Concrete decor is also a wonderful unfinished gift for the “crafty” person in your life.

Get “Concrete Creative” with Direct Colors!

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Applying water-based sealers in the wintertime can be challenging but not impossible. Certainly, all outdoor decorative concrete should be sealed with a solvent-based sealer from December-February. Though solvents are less temperature sensitive overall, they still should not be applied in freezing conditions. Water-based sealers can be used for indoor flooring projects in occupied homes or businesses under the following conditions:

For best results in dry conditions, dampen the applicator with water from a spray bottle before beginning the application. If you have a new construction project that might be difficult to heat, consider sticking to a solvent-based sealer.

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James K. of Texas recently finished an addition to his home. Using Coffee Brown Acid Stain and Deco Gel, he created a beautiful countertop, fireplace surround and flooring for his new living space.

James wrote, “We finally finished our room addition and thought y’all might like to see what we did with the help of Direct Colors.”

The Deco Gel was applied to the fireplace surround and countertop while the floor was stained with a diluted Coffee Brown Acid Stain. All the surfaces, including the stonework, were sealed with
High Gloss Solvent Sealer.

“Thanks for everything and we will be calling on Direct Colors Inc. again.”

You too can renovate a room in your home or office with Direct Colors products. Call us today to discuss your next Do-It-Yourself-With-Direct-Colors project!

View more concrete countertop and flooring project photos.

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For pennies on the dollar, add that extra touch of custom color to your brick mortar. Mortar can look a boring gray but not when you include concrete pigment in the mix! Direct Colors offers dozens of color options on our gray-based chart to match any brick pattern.

Here’s a few of our most popular colors:

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Bob in California emailed us photos with a description of his project. Folks living in especially arid climates should pay particular attention his suggestions. “Thanks for a fine product and great instructions. It was a lot of hard work but the results are fine and the DCI floor wax and polish really made it “pop”. We are happy with the project and the economy of covering 1250 feet of floor space for only about $400. Our total cost was a bit more than 50 cents per square foot!”

“The temperature when I stained the floors was in the high 70s but humidity was 15% so even wetting the concrete I don’t think the solution stayed wet long enough for the acid to its full effect. The main color is Malayan Buff. The darker highlight is Cola I squirted on from a spray bottle. My intent was to make it looks like intermittent intrusions into the base. I also did not want it to be perpendicular to any of the walls so that is why it is at an angle.”

“Due to the low humidity, spreading the sealer with the pad is the best way. It took a day for prep and stain, a day for neutralizing and washing, and another day for more washing and first seal coat. The first seal coat used half the 5 gallon container as the concrete really soaked it in but the second coat probably did not use more than a half gallon. I found a shop vacuum extremely useful in gathering up the water when cleaning the floor. A floor squeegee ($5) came in handy for pushing the water on the floor.”

“It was our first time and we are happy with the results. We plan to do more staining next fall so that puts us in the class of satisfied DIY customers.”

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Direct Colors manufactures one of the most durable, easy-to-work with concrete overlays in the industry. We knew our customers could do almost anything with our product whether commercial or residential, but contractors Travis and Rachel Lane with PT Concrete take it to a higher level.

Working primarily with DCI Smooth White Overlay, Rachel has created beautiful designs using acid stain, concrete dye and concrete pigment specific to each customer’s unique personality. The sky really is the limit with decorative concrete these days and in the hands of an artisan, concrete can look like wood, stone or any kind of traditional flooring and better.

DCI Concrete Overlay can be hand-troweled smooth with a magic trowel, stamped or textured. If you have a heavily stained, slightly damaged or generally unattractive concrete slab – indoors or out – you’d like to start over with, this is the product. You don’t have to be an expert to overlay a concrete floor, just a little bit handy. Give us a call for advice on your next project and we’ll provide all the technical assistance you’ll need to get the job done right yourself!

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What can you do with Concrete Pigment? You might be surprised…..

Diane with Tiles with Style sent us a few photos of her remarkable work. Even we couldn’t believe what beautiful and creative projects could be created with our concrete pigments.

Diane particularly likes our blue concrete pigment for use with mortar and grout. She writes, “it makes the design come alive. I am a huge advocate of your concrete pigment colors.

I not only use them myself in my ceramic tile installations, but I recommend them to all of my clients. I tell them the grout color can play an integral part in the overall design. They don’t have to use just one color, but two or more to create depth, or they can blend them to create a vast array of effects.”

Direct Colors Concrete Pigments can be used with most any cement-based material, including stucco, plaster and overlay. Try one of our integral color sample kits to find the right color for your summer project today!

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Engineering schools nationwide participate in concrete canoe competitions using Direct Colors Concrete Pigment and Concrete Dye. Direct Colors has been delighted to support the efforts of young people at Michigan Technological University, University of Buffalo, UCLA and the University of Maryland.

If college students can make a concrete canoe float, what can you do with decorative concrete at your home or business? Need additional inspiration? Visit our photo gallery to see what other customers have accomplished with concrete pigment, acid stain and more.

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The Teel family of Florida had a vision for their floors and after some hard work, they created a beautiful home and did it all themselves!

Mr. Teel began by troweling down a ¼ in. coat of DCI Smooth Gray Overlay. He applied the overlay with a 12” and 18” Magic Trowel – an excellent choice for smooth finished surfaces. DCI Concrete Overlay is specially formulated to produce a robust reaction with acid stain creating rich, vibrant colors every time.

After the overlay had cured, Mr. Teel applied Malayan Buff for the basecoat and accented the floor with Avocado and Azure Blue Acid Stains. Using the techniques of pouring the Azure Blue and Avocado directly on the floor and applying the stain with the sprayer nozzle very close to the surface, he was able to create a veined effect throughout the house. Mr. Teel also applied Azure Blue Deco Gel to fashion a circular free-hand design on the floor.

The Teel’s were looking for a glossy finish but didn’t want the strong odor of a solvent-based based sealer in their home so they selected the Krystal Kote High Gloss Water Based Sealer. Mr. Teel applied the sealer with 12” Padco Floor Coater and 10” Trim Pad for the hard to reach areas. To preserve the luster and shine of his sealed indoor surfaces, Teel waxed his floors with DCI Residential Floor Wax and Polish.

Direct Colors has taken special care in formulating products that professionals and homeowners alike can apply with equal success. We take great pride in presenting the Teel’s project to our customers and hope you too will be inspired to tackle your own decorative concrete project this year!

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Adding either natural stone or glass aggregate to a polished countertop can enhance the overall appearance of any concrete countertop. Direct Colors offers both Size #1 (5mm-10mm) and Size #2 (10mm-15mm) aggregates in seven varieties. For pre-cast countertops, set up forms and trowel in a thin layer of countertop mix on the surface of the form. Broadcast the desired amount of aggregate onto the mix and press into place with a trowel or float. Apply an additional 1/4 in. of countertop mix, vibrate and add reinforcement.

For poured-in-place countertops after pouring and floating, broadcast the desired amount of aggregate onto the surface and trowel in. After waiting for the necessary curing period, begin polishing with a 100-grit pad to expose the aggregate and continue working the surface with up to a 3000-grit pad for the smoothest possible appearance.

Questions? We’ve got answers. Call us at 877-255-2656 or email at info@directcolors.com

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