Decorative Concrete
Information Library Archive
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ACID-BASED CONCRETE STAINING TIPS & TRICKS:
Planning | Preparation | Application | Finishing & Sealing
Finishing & Sealing: Overview
Finishing, sealing and maintenance are important parts of schieving a durable chemically stained floor.
Finishing & Sealing:
Finish Preparation
Cleaning and neutralizing the stained residue remains the most important step to finishing an acid stained surface.
When Chemstain is applied to concrete it reacts with the calcium hydroxide. Once that reaction is complete, there's a residue on the surface that must be removed before sealing. (Mopping the surface is not an effective way to remove the residue because you spread contaminated water each time you return the mop to the surface.)
Before removing the residue, make sure the surface is completely dry. Wait a minimum of six hours after applying the stain.
The best way to remove the residue is with a swing buffing machine with a white pad. After running the buffer over the surface, sweep up or vacuum the dry residue to remove it. Then neutralize it with a neutral cleaner like baking soda. Ammonia also works as a neutralizer. SC Johnson makes neutral packs that you drop in water to clean the residue.
To make sure the surface is clean and properly neutralized, dampen a clean white cotton rag and run it across the surface. If the rag soils, the surface is not free of residue. Clean it again and repeat the white cloth test before sealing.
Finishing & Sealing:
Sealing & Grouting
Coat all chemically stained concrete floors with a sealer to protect them.
While there are many types of sealers, we suggest you choose from Scofield sealer systems. Water-based acrylic is a popular sealer because it's easy to use and odorless, a significant advantage for indoor applications.
Paint pads and rollers are effective ways to apply sealer. For exterior applications, airless sprayers are effective. A high pressure, low volume (HPLV) sprayer is an option. Sealers perform better in terms of adhesion and durability when applied in multiple thin coats as opposed to one or two thick coats.
TIP: Remove the lint from new rollers by taping them first.
Most floors with saw cuts and stains look better with grouted saw cuts.
Before grouting, apply at least two coats of sealer and allow them to dry overnight before grouting. When you seal first, then grout, the sealer acts as a resist and prevents the grout from marring the floor design.
After the grout cures sufficiently, use burlap, denim or a buffer to remove the excess.
Then finish the floor with another coat to seal the grout as well.
Finishing & Sealing:
Maintenance
Maintain decorative stained concrete floors with mop-down floor finishes that preserve the sealer. Don't use paste wax. Apply mop-down floor finishes that preserve the sealer. In heavy traffic exteriors, twice a year should be sufficient to maintain the beauty. In low-traffic, indoor areas, maintenance should be performed as often as twice a month to maintain the beauty of the Chemstain treated floor.
Typical maintenance involved returning with a rotary buffing machine to remove scratches and scuffs, then reapplying floor finish and polish.
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