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Acid stained floors with paint spots

Q. My husband and I recently acid stained our floors. We were told that other than cleaning the floors well that there would be no need to clean using any other method. The concrete did have some old paint stains (water based) in which we were told the acid would typically cover. We have NOT sealed the floors. We have light spots all over the living room floor as a result of the paint stains. Is there anything we can do (cleaning wise or sanding) so that we can redo our floors with an acrylic stain??? My husband says no since we have applied the acid stain but I want your opinion before we throw our hands up and say we quit and relay carpet.

A. One of the steps in preparing concrete for acrylic stains is to acid etch the floor. Acid staining is the same as acid etching, only with color. So that part is already done. Since you haven't sealed it, you're still ok to apply acrylic stains. The only thing you need to do before that is make sure the floor has been neutralized. Neutralizing can be done with ammonia diluted 8:1, water:ammonia. Rinse well and it's ready for the stain. Keep in mind that acrylic stains are semitransparent. You may still be able to see some of the paint spots. It would be wise to sand off all those spots and reapply acid stain just on the spots before neutralizing. Check out faux finish staining. This may help.