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My experience with Acid Stain

by Lavida
(california)

Acid Stain is a coloring process by which a chemical reaction acts on a cement surface.When I first heard about it from my husband I thought it was just painting. He in turn had heard from his friend who had done it in his bathroom. Then I researched the net and I was very impressed with it. What I learned is that a solution made with water, acid and inorganic salts reacts with minerals already present in the concrete which result in color. It can be done on new or old concrete. Since it is a very durable product(since protected with sealer or wax)it can be applied to both interiors and exteriors.
We decided to do our entrance with Acid Stain, the reason being that I had heard from our friend that Acid Stain will never be uniform or will never have an even tone. The reactions you get will be different from slab to slab, and even on the same job you may see different coloration patterns.So we didnot want to experiment inside the house.We decided to do it on our own but in retrospect I think we should have given it to a contractor. We gave a good cleaning to the drive way and removed all the dirt, since that will prevent the stain from penetrating and reacting. We did a small area first. Acid Staining application requires a few assorted sprayers, brushes and a saw with a diamond blade in it for scoring the surface which we borrowed. After it is is applied, the floor should be sealed and or waxed to protect the stain and add shine and depth. We kept it for 3 weeks. But to tell you the truth it did not come up to our expectations.
But still we are very happy with our effort and our entrance looks a lot better than before.