How to Stain Concrete Floors and Driveways

When deciding how to decorate a home or its exterior, a simple and beautiful solution is always available in concrete stain. Whether you are tearing up old carpet and going for a new, more striking look, or want to dazzle guests with a stained concrete driveway, you will find that the simple steps of how to stain concrete are something you can easily do yourself or pay a professional to do if you desire a more complex decorative plan.

Using resources on the internet to see what sort of possible designs and effects concrete stain can have in your room is a good way to do initial research. You'll also want to be sure that the concrete in your home or on your property is well suited to be stained. There are many resources on the internet illustrating how to stain concrete both indoors and outdoors yourself. Knowing how to stain concrete and having the right canvas are both very important.

With acid based concrete stain, the prep work and safety precautions are probably the most work and moved involved parts of the entire concrete stain process. The concrete surface must be cleaned thoroughly and washed over several times. No concrete nails or major indentations can be left in or on the surface. If you are going to fix any major cracks or holes with quick dry concrete, you'll need to allow the fixed spots to dry 100% complete before moving along to the next steps.

Sanding the surface should be the next step after making sure that all dirt and grease is removed completely from the surface of the concrete. Making a smooth, uniform surface by sanding will help the look and feel of the concrete after the stain is applied. After the sanding is complete you will need to sweep and mop the concrete to get all the dust off of it.

After the floor is dust, grease and moisture free and sanded down to a desirable consistency, you will need to cover all of the walls or surfaces that you don't want affected by the acid stain. Acid concrete stain is highly reactive and will damage all metal surfaces and leave stains forever on walls and furniture.

With a clean canvas and protected surfaces, you are not read to apply the concrete stain. You'll usually need to mix with water. You'll need to use a completely plastic application tool, whether it's a sprayer or brush. There can be no metal due to the reactive nature of the acid stain. As the stain dries completely, you can do additional coats of concrete stain until the colors and hues are to your liking. After you get the colors right, you'll need to seal the coating with a polyurethane layer. You'll need at least two layers applied, preferably with a paint roller.