Improving your home is a great way of boosting its value, beauty and functionality. Making your flooring colourful and enticing can be an excellent idea. Transform your plain grey concrete surface into something enticing and colourful with concrete dyes or stains. Bear in mind though that after applying such, the color is permanent. It is for this reason that you must test it in a certain area on the surface first. This will make sure that the aesthetics and colour are what you are aiming for. There are some manufacturers offering small sample sizes of their products or perhaps test kits with sample of each color in their line.
Important Things To Consider
The color effects you want to achieve – Similar to how painters achieve various effects with water colors or acyclics, concrete contractors can also achieve various results depending on the materials they use. So it is very important for you to know some of the significant pieces of information about the product you want to use.
The concrete’s condition – Factors like whether the concrete is old or new, has patched areas or is contaminated with grease and dirt must be considered. Bear in mind that the condition of the concrete will greatly influence coloring.
Product’s application procedure – Most dyes or stain are user-friendly. In fact, there are those that are ready for use. The others may require combining two components like a base resin and pigment. For dyes, they come as a liquid concentrate or powder that you must dilute with the right water or solvent prior to its application. Regardless of what product you might want to use, it is a must for you to stir or shake it thoroughly before application to guarantee that the pigment distribution is even.
Know where to use the product – It would be a great idea to opt for a product that can be used for interior and exterior applications. Due to the fact that they penetrate the concrete surface, most stains can be used on both exterior and interior concrete slabs. Also, these products have excellent wear resistance and UV stability. Dyes, on the other hand, are not usually recommended for exterior use since the color may fade if exposed to direct sunlight. The bottom-line is that whenever you want to use dyes for outdoor project, be sure to check if it is suitable for such. For added protection, experts recommend applying a clear sealer to newly dyed concrete.