Cement Stain Concentrate (English Ivy, 32 Ounce)

I had a new pool installed and the concrete contractor really really messed up. I can’t even explain how bad it was or what happened, but you can see the before photos I’ve attached(ones that look terrible) and yup that was a brand new slab 1100sq ft on a brand new house. So after negotiating some money back, <- I know I’m crazy I should have had him rip it out, but to save you the details I didn’t. I first had to strip the existing sealer(I did this with bed sheets and xylene). It’s important to make sure the concrete doesn’t have any sealer remaining. You can also etch the concrete to open the poors too but I do not. After this I wanted a specific gray so I experimented with all kinds of antique’s and stains. It was really hard to find a stain that didn’t include a sealer in it so after about a month of experimenting with different Behr gray stain from Home Depot( was alway too blue) I came across this company on amazon. I read some reviews and decided to buy a small bottle of white and charcoal. As soon as it came in I began experimenting. First try was too light, second try too dark, then after sleeping on it, i tried again and came up with a good color that I liked. ( start with a white base and add small amounts of charcoal until you get it. Then test it on a small piece of concrete. A little charcoal goes a long way. It is important to use small amounts or you will rip through your bottles quickly during your tests. So I ended up using the caps of the bottles for my measuring(micro level). Ultimately I ended up with 1 part white, 3/4 parts charcoal and 4 parts distilled water. This created an almost solid stain in a decent medium gray. I then sprayed it on with a cone tip sprayer, then applied a second coat. Unfortunately it rained right after but the stain was dry so It stuck. The next day, I applied liberally Brickform Antique-it in dark gray over top with a soft bristle brush. <- this gives it a natural aged realistic stone highlight look. I waited 2 hours then applied two light coats of diamond clear sealer by Euclid( commercial grade sealer) I ended up contacting the company directly instead of buying my bottles from amazon because they sell a 32oz bottle and if you buy 8 or more there is a discount. I needed about 8 32oz bottles for my project. It’s kind of expensive but the alternative to have a company come in and do it would have been way more. Oh yeah here’s a tip. Use a paint brush for your testing instead of sprayer. I’d recommend this product as it turned out great. It was easy to use, shipping was quick and they have some really awesome colors. The only thing is you really have to seal it in or it will probably wipe off on traffic areas. Even though it says penetrating, in my experience it did penetrate the concrete but I could still wipe some of it(top layer) off with a really hard scrub. <- I should have etched it and probably wouldn't have had this. Oh yeah another tip. Have some xylene and scrub brush handy while you are testing. It will pull it off. Anyway. Hope this helps someone. Update::So I originally stained and sealed this in October. It went through a harsh buffalo winter and pretty much still looks great. However I did notice some small areas scattered around where the stain had come off a little. Almost looks like the concrete didn’t absorb it quite right or maybe it is that it was a new slab of concrete and hadn’t settled yet. I also did a very light coat of sealer so maybe that’s why too. The spots look like small scratches or blotches no bigger than a dime(some smaller) the rest of it still looks amazing and is very durable with the sealer I used. I’m going to touch it up with a paint brush and re-reseal. Still 5 stars.

I recently bought a home and noticed the pavers in both the front and back needed quite a bit of work. My HOA had no idea what color the original pavers were, but I could definitely tell that they had worn quite a bit. In comes this product! I measured out one part stain to seven parts of water and put it into a garden sprayer. I sprayed both patios evenly, waited for them to dry and sprayed a second coat. I then followed that up with a concrete seal to waterproof them. While the color is darker than before, it definitely revitalized my patio! This was a great product and with the waterproof sealer I’m sure it will last quite a while!

A few strainers out there for brick fireplaces costs $100-$250. This one serves multiple purposes. It is cost effective, easy to apply, and got the job done. I would say to clean my fireplace and apply the stain it was probably 3 hours. I used the Buff stain to take the red out of my brick and give it a more calm look. The ratio for the fireplace was 1/4. When it was diluted, it was too thin. Great coverage though and the color turned out great. I have plenty left over if I wanted to make it darker, but I like the opaque style I’ve got going.

Only giving this a 4 star because I don’t know how it will hold up over time. But ease of use 5⭐️ Covers quite well 5⭐️ Dries quickly Preparing the floor is essential! Technique used, sprayed color then softened splatter spray with water or another color, let it run toward the drain for a natural flow look. Look forward to sealing it. Wish there were more creative videos on water based stains out there.

I ordered two colors from this company. The Emerald is a bit thick but it's liquid. This Gold Coarse is almost hard. I can't shake it, it won't pour out. I've added water to the bottle, it's still awful. I think it's old. I've gotten some out to thin and try and use. But, I just don't like working with either color, this brand of stain isn't working out for me. I also ordered colors from Expressions LTD, those colors are excellent! The stain is easy to pour and very vibrant. I'm staining a porch floor. I liked the other stains so much I ordered more to finish the floor. If I had been able to use these stains also I would have had enough to combine for the design I wanted. I want a stone look with layered colors. The photo show the floor unfinished, as I need the LTD stain to arrive.

Concrete slab for Barndo. Wanted an aqua flowing look to it when all said and done. I read some of the reviews about being thick and hard to work but I also read the instructions. Slab size 1800 sqft Waited a month+ since slab was poured so it would suck up the stain Prep was easy leaf blower and a cheap harbor freight floor scraper to get the high spots gone 3 2gal harbor freight sprayers (one per color) 1 bottle of winter white 1 bottle of emerald 1 bottle midnight sky Mix about 1.5gal of water per stain bottle into the sprayer and to mix just pick up and shake for a few seconds. Do all 3 like this before spraying Wet Wet Wet Walk all you want when it is wet, the shoe prints of mine never stayed bc the colors flowed together. If your wanting the colors to flow you want to work sections, like 15x15 I ended up doing, since I had 3 colors I did the darkest first, the midnight sky. Sprayed about 60% of the area. Next white, it is powerfull so I did lines (like marbleing look) and light bloches here and there, then near the white I would do lines so the white green n blue would over lap and any where grey still I put more green and then worked onto next section. Again better to work all 3 colors at once and in small areas. I still have a lot of the green n white left in the sprayers for touch ups or more details. It was an affordable option, suggestion I got was use non-film forming sealant for the top coat.