Question:

I discovered your site online searching for a place to buy pigment to color traditional plaster. We are building a home and will have a contractor plaster all interior walls. His usual method is not to add color (although he is willing to do so), so I am researching some options on my own.

Is your Integral Color and Concrete pigment intended for this use?

Do you have all colors in stock? Once an order is placed how soon will it ship? It would be shipped to Pennsylvania, are there faster options for shipping? My plaster guy wants to start ahead of schedule so I am a bit pressed for time.

Also, do you know the equivalent in dry plaster to what would be in 15 gallons? My contractor said he mixes 15 gallons at one time and I do not know how many pounds that would be. (In order to estimate how much pigment would be needed)

Thanks in advance!

Dawn

Answer:

Our concrete pigment works very well in plaster. We keep all of our pigments in stock and would ship same day if ordered by 12:00 pm CST or called in by 2:30 pm.

Our pigment cannot be measured by volume the pigment and the plaster must be weighed to get consistent color from batch to batch. You can use a low cost gram or pound scale for the pigment and a bathroom scale for the plaster. As long as they weigh the same each time, they don’t have to be particularly accurate; you just need to get the same ratio each time.

Use the pre-bagged mix calculator on our web page to calculate how much pigment you need if your contractor is using bagged mix. If he is making his own plaster, use the custom batch calculator.

-Frank Turner

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Concrete acid stain is one way to ensure that your home has gorgeous flooring without having to spend a bundle on carpet or hardwood floors. Between its beautiful finish and easy maintenance, what’s not to love?

There’s more than one way to acid stain concrete. But for most concrete acid stain applications, the method in this article series will work just fine.

Preparing the surface for staining

This step is perhaps the most important in the entire acid staining process. Without proper preparation, your concrete acid stain won’t give you the rich color that you’re hoping for.

To accept the stain properly, the concrete must be completely free of oils, dirt, debris, sealers, or waterproofing agents. For older or exposed concrete, the surface must be completely intact, without any exposed aggregate. Concrete acid stain does not stain rocks or sand. It only works on the cement portion of concrete.

Cleaning the concrete

Remember: concrete acid stain is not an overcoat. It is a penetrating stain that will change the actual appearance of the concrete. If your concrete surface has any debris, such as tile adhesives, carpet adhesives, pet stains, dry wall mud, etc., you need to clean it thoroughly before staining.

Here are a few cleaning agents and the kind of debris they’ll clean up:

•    Bean-Ne-Doo: for removing adhesives and latex paint
•    Soy Gel Professional Paint Stripper: for removing epoxy, sealers, varnish or paint stains
•    Xylene: for removing solvent-based sealers
•    Soap and water or an orange degreaser: for removing water-based sealers or stubborn dirt

You can also use a fine sanding pad on a floor buffer to help open the pores of a distressed concrete and even the surface. This kind of surface will have more distinct color variations from the stain, which will give your floor depth and character.

Overlay resurfacing

It can be difficult to clean a concrete surface for staining, but it’s not impossible. If your concrete is too soiled for the above solutions to work, or if you’d prefer a more even finish, consider an overlay resurfacing.

Using an organic degreaser (such as DCI Orange or Simple Green) at a medium concentration, scrub the surface thoroughly with a nylon brush and rinse with clear water. For an interior project where water runoff is not possible, use a shop vacuum, mop, and/or a squeegee to contain the water and aid in drying. As a final step, rinse the surface with water and ammonia to fully neutralize it and ensure a balanced pH level for staining.

Final tips

Remember to remove all soap and cleaner residue from the concrete and make sure that the surface is completely dry before using concrete acid stain. Also, concrete that has been acid etched or washed with muriatic acid cannot be acid stained.

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