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Reviving 8 year old stamped porch, walks and patio

by Jim
(Ozark, MO)

Q. We moved to a home in SW Missouri that has a stamped concrete walk, patio and porch. As far as I can tell, these have not been maintained or been resealed since construction. Some areas are in the sun/weather and are significantly faded. Other areas that are under cover are much darker and still have a shining sealed look. The stamped texture is rough (uneven, natural look) that has darker and lighter tones in those areas that are still sealed. That is the look I am wanting to achieve, the original appearance.

I have power washed these surfaces and they cleaned up very well. Can you provide me with any suggestions on what to do? Do I need to re-stain and then seal? Or will re-sealing provide the two-tone wet look of the original?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

A. The colors in decorative concrete do fade over time, especially outside. This is normal. As the sealer wears away so does the luster. Usually, resealing with a quality, solvent based sealer will restore the appearance. Before sealing, test it by putting xylene on a small area. This will show how the concrete will look with new sealer. The xylene will simply dissipate.
If you like it, then reseal it with 2 coats. If not then you have to stain it but this can be very tricky. Stamped concrete is not colored with stain but rather color hardeners (colored cement) or integrally colored concrete. So trying to find a stain that exactly matches the original color can be very difficult. You may have to play around with mix ratios of stains to find the right color. But try the xylene test first see what you get.