They used turtle wax compound (like for cars). Remove all residue and excess color from concrete before leaving to dry. Acid stains cannot react with the concrete if any of these contaminants is present. Not only does applying a clear coat to the floor protect it, but it also gives it that wet look and brings out the beauty of the stain. But not tacky-cheap, or fall-apart-in-18-months cheap. Once the floor is dark enough for you, use a mop and/or scrub brush to scrub it with an ammonia/water solution. I rushed to acid stain the concrete in the guest room downstairs earlier this year as we had a steady string of house guests coming through and they needed a place to sleep (funny how that works). Acid stain can be left on the surface longer if desired. This is a great idea, and Im so glad you posted this even though its not a typical homesteading topic. Ha! Floor Cleaner: If your floor is very dirty, youll want a heavy-duty cleaner that wont leave a residue. In my first room, I used a gel paint stripperto loosen the worst paint overspray on the edge of the room, and I wish I hadnt. If I had just kept it waxed and sealed more often, it wouldve been protected better. I just found your blog, and I love you. This will help to remove any soap residue that might remain. For Stubborn residue or porous surfaces, use an organic degreaser to aid in the removal. Thanks for sharing the step-by-step process! Again, its all about personal preference. In a homesteading situation you dont want to be slipping in wet snowy boots. I just couldnt stand the thought of putting pretty, fluffy carpet downstairs so the dogs could throw up on it, poop on it, and the kids could spill stickiness all over it. I did it all for a couple hundred bucks. It depends on the size of your room, tho. I have no idea. Yet, unlike hardwood, tile and carpet, which require professional installation, homeowners can lower costs by acid-staining concrete flooring themselves! I should be able to stain that, I think. A simple solution of basic dish soap and water will work well to clean the floor. This article may contain affiliate links. Any thoughts on how this would work on a cinderblock wall in a mud room? Hash Brown Casserole With No Canned Soup aka Funeral Potatoes. I love the floors, great job with them! Put onyour protective gear, and fill your sprayer with stain. 4. I used it to scrape the rinse water towards my shop vac. Great idea!! The product will appear milky in application but clear as it dries, Smooth out any foaming from the concrete surface. You have a point I cant help myself . Luckily the paint on the floor in our basement has been holding up, but after the kids are grown this is what is happening on the concrete! 2. Usually somewhere between 4 and 6 hours is best, but the look is entirely up to the user. They power troweled it, and we slopped paint and sheet rock mud on it as we were finishing the walls (which I deeply regretted later.). 
I cant recall the name of the product at the moment I believe we got it at lowes its what they gave us when we asked for TSP. Nope. Did you wax your floor? We are building our 3040 barndominium for lack of better word. If you are looking to turn a drab concrete floor into a beautiful, elegant and durable finished surface using acid stain is the answer! Nap? So when it came to designing and building the barndominium and our cabin projects at the farm this year, we knew that concrete floors and acid staining would again be a major part of the plan for both! It's included as a part of my FREE digital homestead library. Also which exact products did you use and colors? We had the new basement sheetrocked with the rest of the addition, but I put the rest of it on the back burner as 2016 had us occupied with other projects. There was a lot of paint and other old glue/epoxy type stuff on the office floor that I couldnt completely remove, also some areas that polled and still others that just didnt take the stain as much as it shouldve and even though you can still see color variations in those spots, it all comes together and looks like it was intended. How To Grow The Best Zucchini 3 Secret Tips For Big Flavor & High Yields! Yep it was super tedious. To be perfectly honest? Once complete, its best to allow at least 24 hours to dry completely before foot traffic. I have a passionate hatred for carpet, yall. My sealer looked white and milky when I first applied it, but then dried to a clear finish. The topic of acid staining concrete floors strays a little from my usual subject-matter and seems slightly more suited for a home renovation blog. Youll want to check the manufacturer recommendations on the stain youre using to see how much youll need for your space. The floors look amazing I love this idea. So that room is rather blotchy and uneven. The concrete must be free of adhesives, dirt, paint, oils, drywall, mud, sealers and stains. i have a huge basement ( with studs only dividing it into 5 rooms) that i want to tackle, though perhaps only room at a time. This has given me the courage to go at it with our guest room and family room! So what wax did you end up using, if any? Once you have the mix and look you like, you can begin to spray the entire floor. Its holding up well except for in front of the kitchen sink and counter area. Yours is the best article Ive read yet! Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. I had the cola color, and hubby had the red color, and we made it look splotchy. Let it dry complete (at least 24 hours) and then youre ready for the last step! With only the studs up on our project, it certainly made the process easier not having to worry about drywall or wood wall trim! Because its so versatile in application, acid stain can be used for any commercial project with concrete. Do you see any issue with this? Neutralizing your acid stain is an absolutely essential step in a successful concrete acid stain application. I love that you stained it yourself. Thanks for the inspiration . Avoid any harsh chemicals that could keep the acid from reacting with the concrete. I love this!!! As one person applies the baking soda/water mixture, have a second person go behind with a shop vac to suck up the water from the surface. I Have a summer washer-drier in a shed with a lid that pops up, and doors which open in the front. I know there are a variety of other products thatll work for this, too. The biggest consideration is the floor with which youre starting. We too, used quart spray bottles. You can get everything from a high gloss wet-look to semi-gloss and even matte finishes. Here is to trying your hand at using acid stains to create a beautiful concrete floor! We are in the process of designing our next home and recently decided to build on a slab rather than a basement. You can buy TSP in most lumberyards, and it can be ordered on Amazon. Furthermore, if a muriatic acid has been used to clean the floor, it unfortunately probably removed the minerals in the floor needed for the acid stain to etch its color into the surface. If you have a large surface, or for floors that have excessive dirt and grime, you may want to consider renting a power floor cleaner. I am in the process of staining my floor. Step 5: Neutralize The Acid Stained Concrete Floor. For example, all the water from use of TSP makes a great liquid fertilizer. It looks darn cool. I replaced our carpet with wood floors. Our floors and sealer have held up well thus far. Some websites advised diluting the stain with water, but I didnt. Thanks so much for giving me the courage to quit researching/procrastinating and actually dive in and give it a shot. Ready for a chemistry lesson in painting? The cost of acid-stained floors begins at $0.47 per square foot, which is far less than tile, carpet, marble or other common flooring options. Once 4 to 6 hours have passed, its time to deactivate the acid stain. Do you drop many things on the floor and shatter them? Prepare baking soda and water solution using 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda per gallon of water. It created both a beautiful and durable surface for the interior spaces of our home. So I just used an all-plastic, quart-size spray bottle instead. I live in rural Alaska built a home about 8 years ago and acid stained the first two floors. I also recommend a no-slip floor polish. It looks SOOOO nice! Its been about four years since this was posted, how about an update and maybe some things you may have done differently looking back? But before I go into the specifics (and my mistakes), lets talk about why we chose acid stain concrete in the first place: 1. Well be trying this after we paint the cabinets!! . Our house is on a slab, and I, too HATE carpet. excellent points altogether, you just gained a brand new reader. I cant stress enough how important this step is do NOT skip it and do NOT skimp on it. Move the solution around the floor using a squeegee. If you have a buffer get a spray and buff which allows spraying a mist of the finish and then buffing which removes the dirt and shines the floor in one operation. If concrete your floor has dry wall mud, paint, wood stains, tile adhesives, carpet adhesives, grease, pet stains, etc. We scored the concrete first, into 18 blocks, which are now grouted, so they look like tiles. Did you mop then suck up the water,etc with the wet vac? While one person sprays, have a second person on hand with a stiff push broom to help rub the stain into the surface. It might seem weird to scrub a floor you just spend an hour coloring, but this step is important to remove any leftover acid residue which maycause problems when you go to seal the floor. A coat of sealer every few years will be more than enough to keep your floors looking great. Depending on design and surface conditions, costs can rise as high as $10.00 per square foot. This is actually just in our basement (not kitchen, etc) so havent had much issue with dropping things, yet. We live on a lake and are considering this for the walk out basement floor. I hope thats not awkward. dark toned color, use a brush to work the acid stain into the surface using consistent circular strokes. I used just under 2 gallons for a bedroom, storage room, and the large family room. After the surface has completely dried, the floor should be ready to seal. 2022 Direct Colors LLC. Learn how your comment data is processed. As dries, it will darken and then turn super chalky and quite ugly. >>, I had to laugh when I first read this. Read more about the importance of this step. The true color will occur once the sealer goes on. When deciding on a look for your new flooring project, it is important to understand that acid stains are not an overcoat like paint. We live in a very sandy area, and our dog (and people) seem to track in sand all the time, which scours the color off the floor in high-traffic area like in front of sink, etc. Watch TV? Make smooth strokes with the roller, and try not to overwork the clear coat. You wont loose subs. Any positive? No two floors will look the same. Protective Gear: Rubber gloves are a must, and a mask and eye protection isnt a bad idea, either. All concrete floors, this weekend cleaning floors to stain on my days off starting Wednesday next week. There are a many ways to do this step, but I choose to use an all plastic sprayer. TSP is a fantastic material, the truth is that the substitutes are not anywhere as effective. We stained our office floor about six months ago using your instructions to guide us and its held up very well, but to low traffic and areas under our rolling chairs being protected. Before we get into the 4 basic how-to steps of acid staining concrete, it is important to cover a few important topics relating to the concrete you will be staining. I use and have a discharge hose which runs all that water to the garden. I couldnt find TSP locally, but I did find a TSP-alternative that worked just fine for removing the paint residue on my floor. Each stain has different activation times, Read more about the importance of this step. Click on the button below: hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(3381750, 'ea1080ce-ff3b-4d76-a2d8-9185ffe753aa', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); 5107 Pegasus Court Suite A Frederick, MD 21704, 7841 Cessna Avenue Gaithersburg, MD 20879. TSP is what is recommended by most professionals. Acid Stain: There are a bunch of different brands out there, but this is the one I went with from Amazon(affiliate link). My cleaning routine was: scraping paint/gunk off the floor, scrubbing with warm water and the TSP-alternative, vacuuming up the water, rinsing with fresh water, and then vacuumingagain. At this point, you will likely worry the color is not what you thought it would be. Its not covering anything, but rather reacting with the chemicals in the concrete. So whenI found myself with an unusually quiet week between Christmas and New Years, and decided it was time to wrap up this basement once and for all. Any suggestions? Its not carpet. I cant wait because our office looks amazing. We are pulling up carpet and cleaning our living room and hallway tonight and will be staining both tomorrow morning. Hey! You had an unusually quiet week, and what did you do? It provides a non-slip surface in a gloss sheen. I, too, am so glad you posted this, because I have reaearched acid staining. Here are the benefits of acid staining concrete: Acid-stained concrete is durable and resistant to UV light, moisture, and damage. But I decided to go for it anyway, as I figured a) I have a ton of very thrifty, very handy readers who love frugal, DIY stuff, and b) I honestly just wanted a reference for myself, as I have a bad habit of doing a complex project and then promptly forgetting all the details for time and eternity. 3. Mine darkened to my ideal shade after about two hours, but your floor may take more or less time. We also took one extra step and had our concrete scored into 3 x 3 tiles when they cut it for expansion joints. Mine was approximately thecolor of bile when it first hit the floor (I had a small heart attack at that point), but dont worryitll darken as it sits. Great Job! It will make it super slippery especially when it gets wet. The smoother the roller nap, the better. (I used a 3/8 nap roller on one of my rooms (it was all I had), and I didnt like the texture it left in the finish. Possibly yes although I havent personally tested that out yet. Using a shop vac to vacuum up the rinse water will speed up the drying time. 
And just how easy is it to apply? Start by mopping the surfacewith a mild dish detergent. The stain lightly etches the concrete surface, which allows the metallic salts to penetrate easier. My big idea was to use a foam brush to apply the stain around the edges of the room, and then follow up with a sprayer in the middle areas. Ive been thinking about doing this but was a little hesitant as Ive never seen it done before. (I think it was a better option, anyway TSP is rather nasty I think. Yes, I think wax is key to help protect it! My ideal flooring is cement. Saturate trim pad with concrete wax solution. Im working through staining my concrete floors and just need that extra level of protection from scrapes and moving furniture. We had some pretty thick paint overspray around the edges of our walls. Allow the floor to dry to the touch between coats.
I cant recall the name of the product at the moment I believe we got it at lowes its what they gave us when we asked for TSP. Nope. Did you wax your floor? We are building our 3040 barndominium for lack of better word. If you are looking to turn a drab concrete floor into a beautiful, elegant and durable finished surface using acid stain is the answer! Nap? So when it came to designing and building the barndominium and our cabin projects at the farm this year, we knew that concrete floors and acid staining would again be a major part of the plan for both! It's included as a part of my FREE digital homestead library. Also which exact products did you use and colors? We had the new basement sheetrocked with the rest of the addition, but I put the rest of it on the back burner as 2016 had us occupied with other projects. There was a lot of paint and other old glue/epoxy type stuff on the office floor that I couldnt completely remove, also some areas that polled and still others that just didnt take the stain as much as it shouldve and even though you can still see color variations in those spots, it all comes together and looks like it was intended. How To Grow The Best Zucchini 3 Secret Tips For Big Flavor & High Yields! Yep it was super tedious. To be perfectly honest? Once complete, its best to allow at least 24 hours to dry completely before foot traffic. I have a passionate hatred for carpet, yall. My sealer looked white and milky when I first applied it, but then dried to a clear finish. The topic of acid staining concrete floors strays a little from my usual subject-matter and seems slightly more suited for a home renovation blog. Youll want to check the manufacturer recommendations on the stain youre using to see how much youll need for your space. The floors look amazing I love this idea. So that room is rather blotchy and uneven. The concrete must be free of adhesives, dirt, paint, oils, drywall, mud, sealers and stains. i have a huge basement ( with studs only dividing it into 5 rooms) that i want to tackle, though perhaps only room at a time. This has given me the courage to go at it with our guest room and family room! So what wax did you end up using, if any? Once you have the mix and look you like, you can begin to spray the entire floor. Its holding up well except for in front of the kitchen sink and counter area. Yours is the best article Ive read yet! Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. I had the cola color, and hubby had the red color, and we made it look splotchy. Let it dry complete (at least 24 hours) and then youre ready for the last step! With only the studs up on our project, it certainly made the process easier not having to worry about drywall or wood wall trim! Because its so versatile in application, acid stain can be used for any commercial project with concrete. Do you see any issue with this? Neutralizing your acid stain is an absolutely essential step in a successful concrete acid stain application. I love that you stained it yourself. Thanks for the inspiration . Avoid any harsh chemicals that could keep the acid from reacting with the concrete. I love this!!! As one person applies the baking soda/water mixture, have a second person go behind with a shop vac to suck up the water from the surface. I Have a summer washer-drier in a shed with a lid that pops up, and doors which open in the front. I know there are a variety of other products thatll work for this, too. The biggest consideration is the floor with which youre starting. We too, used quart spray bottles. You can get everything from a high gloss wet-look to semi-gloss and even matte finishes. Here is to trying your hand at using acid stains to create a beautiful concrete floor! We are in the process of designing our next home and recently decided to build on a slab rather than a basement. You can buy TSP in most lumberyards, and it can be ordered on Amazon. Furthermore, if a muriatic acid has been used to clean the floor, it unfortunately probably removed the minerals in the floor needed for the acid stain to etch its color into the surface. If you have a large surface, or for floors that have excessive dirt and grime, you may want to consider renting a power floor cleaner. I am in the process of staining my floor. Step 5: Neutralize The Acid Stained Concrete Floor. For example, all the water from use of TSP makes a great liquid fertilizer. It looks darn cool. I replaced our carpet with wood floors. Our floors and sealer have held up well thus far. Some websites advised diluting the stain with water, but I didnt. Thanks so much for giving me the courage to quit researching/procrastinating and actually dive in and give it a shot. Ready for a chemistry lesson in painting? The cost of acid-stained floors begins at $0.47 per square foot, which is far less than tile, carpet, marble or other common flooring options. Once 4 to 6 hours have passed, its time to deactivate the acid stain. Do you drop many things on the floor and shatter them? Prepare baking soda and water solution using 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda per gallon of water. It created both a beautiful and durable surface for the interior spaces of our home. So I just used an all-plastic, quart-size spray bottle instead. I live in rural Alaska built a home about 8 years ago and acid stained the first two floors. I also recommend a no-slip floor polish. It looks SOOOO nice! Its been about four years since this was posted, how about an update and maybe some things you may have done differently looking back? But before I go into the specifics (and my mistakes), lets talk about why we chose acid stain concrete in the first place: 1. Well be trying this after we paint the cabinets!! . Our house is on a slab, and I, too HATE carpet. excellent points altogether, you just gained a brand new reader. I cant stress enough how important this step is do NOT skip it and do NOT skimp on it. Move the solution around the floor using a squeegee. If you have a buffer get a spray and buff which allows spraying a mist of the finish and then buffing which removes the dirt and shines the floor in one operation. If concrete your floor has dry wall mud, paint, wood stains, tile adhesives, carpet adhesives, grease, pet stains, etc. We scored the concrete first, into 18 blocks, which are now grouted, so they look like tiles. Did you mop then suck up the water,etc with the wet vac? While one person sprays, have a second person on hand with a stiff push broom to help rub the stain into the surface. It might seem weird to scrub a floor you just spend an hour coloring, but this step is important to remove any leftover acid residue which maycause problems when you go to seal the floor. A coat of sealer every few years will be more than enough to keep your floors looking great. Depending on design and surface conditions, costs can rise as high as $10.00 per square foot. This is actually just in our basement (not kitchen, etc) so havent had much issue with dropping things, yet. We live on a lake and are considering this for the walk out basement floor. I hope thats not awkward. dark toned color, use a brush to work the acid stain into the surface using consistent circular strokes. I used just under 2 gallons for a bedroom, storage room, and the large family room. After the surface has completely dried, the floor should be ready to seal. 2022 Direct Colors LLC. Learn how your comment data is processed. As dries, it will darken and then turn super chalky and quite ugly. >>, I had to laugh when I first read this. Read more about the importance of this step. The true color will occur once the sealer goes on. When deciding on a look for your new flooring project, it is important to understand that acid stains are not an overcoat like paint. We live in a very sandy area, and our dog (and people) seem to track in sand all the time, which scours the color off the floor in high-traffic area like in front of sink, etc. Watch TV? Make smooth strokes with the roller, and try not to overwork the clear coat. You wont loose subs. Any positive? No two floors will look the same. Protective Gear: Rubber gloves are a must, and a mask and eye protection isnt a bad idea, either. All concrete floors, this weekend cleaning floors to stain on my days off starting Wednesday next week. There are a many ways to do this step, but I choose to use an all plastic sprayer. TSP is a fantastic material, the truth is that the substitutes are not anywhere as effective. We stained our office floor about six months ago using your instructions to guide us and its held up very well, but to low traffic and areas under our rolling chairs being protected. Before we get into the 4 basic how-to steps of acid staining concrete, it is important to cover a few important topics relating to the concrete you will be staining. I use and have a discharge hose which runs all that water to the garden. I couldnt find TSP locally, but I did find a TSP-alternative that worked just fine for removing the paint residue on my floor. Each stain has different activation times, Read more about the importance of this step. Click on the button below: hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(3381750, 'ea1080ce-ff3b-4d76-a2d8-9185ffe753aa', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); 5107 Pegasus Court Suite A Frederick, MD 21704, 7841 Cessna Avenue Gaithersburg, MD 20879. TSP is what is recommended by most professionals. Acid Stain: There are a bunch of different brands out there, but this is the one I went with from Amazon(affiliate link). My cleaning routine was: scraping paint/gunk off the floor, scrubbing with warm water and the TSP-alternative, vacuuming up the water, rinsing with fresh water, and then vacuumingagain. At this point, you will likely worry the color is not what you thought it would be. Its not covering anything, but rather reacting with the chemicals in the concrete. So whenI found myself with an unusually quiet week between Christmas and New Years, and decided it was time to wrap up this basement once and for all. Any suggestions? Its not carpet. I cant wait because our office looks amazing. We are pulling up carpet and cleaning our living room and hallway tonight and will be staining both tomorrow morning. Hey! You had an unusually quiet week, and what did you do? It provides a non-slip surface in a gloss sheen. I, too, am so glad you posted this, because I have reaearched acid staining. Here are the benefits of acid staining concrete: Acid-stained concrete is durable and resistant to UV light, moisture, and damage. But I decided to go for it anyway, as I figured a) I have a ton of very thrifty, very handy readers who love frugal, DIY stuff, and b) I honestly just wanted a reference for myself, as I have a bad habit of doing a complex project and then promptly forgetting all the details for time and eternity. 3. Mine darkened to my ideal shade after about two hours, but your floor may take more or less time. We also took one extra step and had our concrete scored into 3 x 3 tiles when they cut it for expansion joints. Mine was approximately thecolor of bile when it first hit the floor (I had a small heart attack at that point), but dont worryitll darken as it sits. Great Job! It will make it super slippery especially when it gets wet. The smoother the roller nap, the better. (I used a 3/8 nap roller on one of my rooms (it was all I had), and I didnt like the texture it left in the finish. Possibly yes although I havent personally tested that out yet. Using a shop vac to vacuum up the rinse water will speed up the drying time. And just how easy is it to apply? Start by mopping the surfacewith a mild dish detergent. The stain lightly etches the concrete surface, which allows the metallic salts to penetrate easier. My big idea was to use a foam brush to apply the stain around the edges of the room, and then follow up with a sprayer in the middle areas. Ive been thinking about doing this but was a little hesitant as Ive never seen it done before. (I think it was a better option, anyway TSP is rather nasty I think. Yes, I think wax is key to help protect it! My ideal flooring is cement. Saturate trim pad with concrete wax solution. Im working through staining my concrete floors and just need that extra level of protection from scrapes and moving furniture. We had some pretty thick paint overspray around the edges of our walls. Allow the floor to dry to the touch between coats.