Stained Concrete Floors Los Angeles | Expert Colored Concrete Services in Los Angeles CA

One of the most interesting things you can do with your Los Angeles concrete is acid stain it. Specialty concrete contractors have been doing this for many years because it gives a much different aspect to decorative concrete and produces a type of faux stone look.

Some products are called concrete stains that are essentially water-based paints, and though they have their applications, they do not produce the same appearance as the acid stain does. Some people mix in some water based stained areas along with the acid stain ones, especially when applied to an imprinted concrete design.

Concrete is porous, but not the same as wood. A wood stain might create some kind of design in concrete, but it would be hard to control it even if were a product designed for use on cement and it wouldn’t look the same as acid stain.

When concrete is poured and finished, it has impurities and settlings that come to the surface. This can appear as a white powder or frost. Before applying the acid stain to concrete floors, the surface should be cleaned with a pressure washer to remove any of the loose dusting. Some apply a diluted acid to the surface prior to the washing.

New concrete floors should cure before attempting to stain it. The acid stain manufacturer typically gives a required waiting period before applying the acid stain. Acid stain goes into the concrete floor, but it is still basically a topical product and has to be protected from traffic. A clear sealer is applied for protection and preventing discoloration due to sunlight exposure.

Another type of acid stain is applied to concrete floor as soon as it can be walked on after the pour. This works under the premise that the acid stain will penetrate better. It does save the time and trouble of pressure washing. After this stain dries, it has to be coated for protection the same way as the other acid stain.

It’s necessary to reapply the finish as a general maintenance. In high traffic areas such as Los Angeles driveways, it should be reapplied every year, but sidewalks generally can go at least two years in between coatings. Most applications are done by using a pump sprayer with a fan tip.

Not all concrete floors will accept decorative concrete acid stain due to its history. If the existing concrete floor was sealed with a curing compound, it will take almost no stain and the older the concrete surfaceis, the less acid stain it will take because of the natural sealants in the air that have settled on it over time.

Like polished concrete, decorative concrete acid stain is a great way to finish concrete floors and it is often done on very smooth finished floors. Sometimes the concrete floor is etched with a saw at equal distance in both directions to create a tile look before the stain is applied, and the finish is applied several times to create a shiny decorative concrete flooring.