Those of you that have stained any significant amount of concrete, would you do it again or hire out? If you would do it again, what would you do differently (prep, application, etc). TIA.

I've never done it personally, but my understanding its that the prep can be the hardest part. It really depends what you want to stain and what condition it is in now. I think the actual straining part is fairly easy.

Did my patio back in the fall. No big deal, but don't skimp on your prep efforts. Clean the patio thoroughly, allow to dry, then etch with acid. Wear a respirator when working with the acid. Allow to dry thoroughly, then apply stain.

I rolled the base coat of stain with a standard paint roller, then mottled in a very light mist of darker layer of stain with a pump sprayer (one like you'd use for pesticides). Apply two coats of sealer once stain dries (24-48 hrs later). Make sure to watch the weather. You don't want it to rain from the time you start staining until the sealant is applied. Turned out great.

I did it a few years ago. It was not that hard to apply it the acid-based stain.

Mine was a little tougher as I did a design with 2 different colors of stain. So I didn't do as well as I wanted where the 2 stains met... i had some overruns.

We actually have a contractor at our house right now staining our three bedrooms. We were considering doing it ourselves until we pulled up the carpet and saw that the prior owner had painted the concrete floor neon green in one room (went wonderfully with the pink and orange vertically striped walls). We called around and got some estimates, and it ended up being about $3.75/square foot for someone to prep and stain.

They started yesterday morning and it took 4 coats of stripper to get the green paint off. They said they should be ready to apply the stain this evening.

I did a room last year. Prep and cleaning is a major PIA and 90% of the work. Was not hard though.

Thinking about doing the back patio now with the left over acid stain.

We like the result inside. Would consider other rooms, but haven't made any decisions on it yet.

Depends on what part of house your doing, and what kind of stain your doing. People are starting to go more away from Acid Stains because they are more labor and easier to mess up if you are not familiar with them, and you have less control over the finished color/appearance. There are Semi-Transparent stains that are simple to apply, but do not give as much color variation as an acid stain, you have to use multiple colors.

Prep can be the majority of the work, but there are surfacers you can use that are very easy to use under the semi-transparent stains.

Overall, it can be a lot of work, but there are more DIY friendly ways to do it now. Not trying to sound arrogant, probably 75% or more of people that use it either use the wrong system or do it wrong, where the whole project should have gone smoother and had better results.

I did acid. Like I said before, the cleaning of the concrete under the coverings was the majority of the job. I would think that would be the same regardless of the stain used.

The acid stain did stink and was kind of messy. Though application was very quick and easy. Which is affecting my enthusiasm for doing other rooms that are harder to isolate.

The other big unknown was the exact color. Looking online is tough to really tell what you are getting. The place I bought the stain at, had there floors done and they looked awful, almost bad enough to make me change my mind and absolutely no use in telling what the different colors looked like. I made a snap decision change of color at the store. Luckily I liked it when it was finished and more importantly, the wife approved!

[This message has been edited by Absolute (edited 4/21/2011 7:48a).]

Your right surface prep can be the majority of the job. But it is different depending on the product. Some are more forgiving. Reactive Acid stains are not forgiving it all. They have to react with the concrete to get the color. Each batch of concrete is different, so the same color can react different on each slab. Also, if there are contaminants in the way, it will block the reaction with the concrete. Surface prep is so important, because "problem" areas will not get covered up, they will stand out even more. You pretty much get on shot, and you get what you get. It is hard to fix those kind of floors.

A lot of decorative concrete companies and distributors are going away from Acid, and using more semi-transparent or acetone stains now. Less work, and less problems, but personally I like the appearance of Acid the best.

Do any of you have recommendations on where to buy acid stain?

Some Benjamin Moores sells Kemiko or Sherwin Williams sells H&C Infusion. There is probably a local decorative concrete supply around you also. That is not the kind of product that Home Depot or Lowe's sells, it is not meant for the DIY market.

In Dallas, I got mine at Jackson home store down near love field. Think it is kemiko brand.

How do the semi and acetone kinds hold up? Seems like the acid is pretty bullet proof once it is on since it is a chemical reaction with the cement. I would worry about the others fading or wearing off, do they?

They don't wear off any more than the acid. The acid stain only reacts with the very top layer of the concrete. You have to seal it to protect it. The semi-transparent and acetone are dye stains. You have to acid etch before the to open the pores of the concrete. They work by soaking into the concrete (with the dye), then flashing off, leaving behind the dye in the concrete. Again, you have to seal them to protect them.

The sealer will make the difference in performance, that is what you are walking/driving on. Once it wears off, the concrete will show wear with either of the products.

do they make sealer that is "non-slip"? The concrete we have is like ice when it's wet.

Is the concrete sealed already? or just troweled real smooth?

If bare, concrete - etch with muriatic acid diluted 3 to 1 maybe even 2 to 1 with water (more water than acid). This will give the floor some profile and open up the pores. Then you need to neutralize the acid (this step is commonly skipped, then people wonder why their sealer peels off occasionally.) Use 1 lb of baking soda to 4 gallons of water and either pour or mop it all over the floor. Rinse it of and let it dry. Then you could use various sealers depending on the exposure it gets. Use a sealer with less shine and add "Shark Grip," it is a very fine additive that gives you a slip resistant finish. I would put it in both coats of sealers if the concrete is real smooth.

If the concrete is already sealed, that changes everything. Usually, you can apply another coat of the same kind of sealer already applied, and add the slip resistant additive to it. But it depends on the sealer, you have to be careful going that route.