concrete dye

[sculptor]

My kitchen floor is concrete.
I wuz gonna lay ceramic tile on it, but then thought:
Maybe I could just dye the concrete, then seal and wax it.
ok
Ithink that an acid based stain is unnecessary
so a dye
An H2O dye seems adequate---not acetone.
I'm thinking a deep blue.......................

Your thoughts?
Knowledge?
wild guesses?

 

[exchemist]

My kitchen floor is concrete.
I wuz gonna lay ceramic tile on it, but then thought:
Maybe I could just dye the concrete, then seal and wax it.
ok
Ithink that an acid based stain is unnecessary
so a dye
An H2O dye seems adequate---not acetone.
I'm thinking a deep blue.......................

Your thoughts?
Knowledge?
wild guesses?

I think it will look crap and be hard to clean properly, due to the uneven surface finish. I would put tiles down.

 

[sculptor]

I think it will look crap and be hard to clean properly, due to the uneven surface finish. I would put tiles down.

yeh, well
I had thought that the prep for tile and for dye are mostly alike(clean and etch)
and then
before I add a sealant and wax
if it looks like crap
I could fall back on tile
which I had bought previously
from what I;ve read, it seems that the sealant should be redone periodically.
...........
and, now then, if it looks good with just the deep blue dye
I can quit there
I have dyed concrete in my shop
(also deep blue) and it has weathered well
but that was done by sprinkling the dyed material on top of fresh--uncured--concrete
not an option with the 30 year old concrete in the kitchen
(sigh)

 

[Seattle]

Could you do the same thing as in your shop if you added a thin layer of mortar over the cement and then add the dyed flakes?

I've seen something like that done to refinish a basement floor.

 

[parmalee]

from what I;ve read, it seems that the sealant should be redone periodically.

It also typically takes about 5x longer to dry than you would expect it to--at least, from my experience.

Personally, I think dye could turn out well. Keeping in mind that any present inconsistencies/discoloration will remain, of course. Also, given that there aren't going to be any sort of chemical reactions that drastically alter what you see initially, you've at least got that...

 

[(Q)]

If staining and not using a primary color, veining and bleed through can result from colors used in the mix
Cold, noisy and echo's
Easily stains if not properly sealed. Sealing required every couple years to maintain
Develops cracks
Can destroy something dropped on it
Can chip or crack if something dropped on it
Stains, cracks and chips not easily repaired

 

[exchemist]

Could you do the same thing as in your shop if you added a thin layer of mortar over the cement and then add the dyed flakes?

I've seen something like that done to refinish a basement floor.

True, though I don't think mortar would be very hard-wearing - might flake off where people walk etc. Ceramic would be a lot harder, I think.

 

[Seattle]

True, though I don't think mortar would be very hard-wearing - might flake off where people walk etc. Ceramic would be a lot harder, I think.

I don't really know what the company used on the treatment of the basement floor. I only saw it on a video. The basement floor was concrete and they came in and spread something over the floor, maybe epoxy? and then added the flakes and then polished it all. When it was done it was quite and improvement and looked almost like marble.

 

[sculptor]

It's a nice sunny day at 58 degrees F
<----is still working on the acid etching part of the process.
vicisitudes of the web:
eg: "Add 1 part of 33% hydrochloric acid to 2 parts water to make a 10% solution"
OK it just me of is there something wrong with the math?
(17% solution?)
and
much advice for mixing acid to water ranges from a 1:10 to a 1:2 ratio, neglects to specify the acid concentration of the acid........................
in percentage nor baumé degree
.....................................
the adventure continues
some of the water soluble dye arrived yesterday
(did a small test in a corner that will be covered by the stove this morn)
So far, etching with the weaker solutions has been inadequate---though heading in the right direction...
another acid etch this morn using a 1:3 ratio of 31.5% acid to distilled water
= 11%--------------------or----(balls to the wall, so to speak) and go with 1:2
= 16% solution?

..................................................................................................................................................................................
i ain't completely confused yet
but i am working on it
the adventure continues

 

[sculptor]

Or:
Am I missing something important?

 

[iceaura]

Nothing important

They do make colored epoxy resin for concrete floors - it dries smooth and shiny, wears well if not baked in UV. If you use clear stuff you can put color down underneath, almost anything - like a bar top. I've seen mostly football team logos.

It's a bit more forgiving than bare concrete, when you drop something - not much, but some.

What I got:

eg: "Add 1 part of 33% hydrochloric acid to 2 parts water to make a 10% solution"

11%,
(a third of a third, shaded low) That's enough of a miss to screw up a job.

a 1:3 ratio of 31.5% acid to distilled water

About 7.9%
A third of a fourth, shaded low

go with 1:2

About 10.5%
(A third of a third again, shaded further low)

how: 33/ (33 + (100-33)+200)), better 33/300, = ratio of acid to total contents. So: 33/300, 31,5/400, 31.5/300.

 

[Sarkus]

I got hooked on watching videos of people making some stunning epoxy-resin tables... some of the colours and effects they could get were really quite wonderful. There’s also some demonstration of them turning old and tired wooden kitchen countertops into something that vaguely resembles marble... (being a bit generous on how much it looked like marble, but that was th effect they were going for). As a flooring I’m sure you could get equally impressive results.

 

[Michael 345]

My daughter suggested a water soluble colour powder can either be mixed with water first and then added to the water in the mixer before cement powder added or coloured powder added to cement powder first

There was some mention of food colouring being used but all I know about food colouring, it comes in tiny bottles not big enough to colour concrete

 

[sculptor]

ok
learning curve
when applying the dye my beloved spouse kept saying "darker"
gee darn
married 40 years, and I still ain't learned how to ignore her
then, she said
"too dark"
gee darn
ok
the "safer" muriatic acid was worthless as tits on a boar
after wasting much time I went with the "less safe" 20 baume 31'5% solution
(last step before renting a grinding machine to roughen the surface of the 36 year old concrete floor)
and, it worked
ok now to the dying
dye needs to soak into the concrete-----------particle size becomes important
so
I ordered 2 dyes one a brilliant blue and the other blueberry---which turned out to be darker, and a tad purple
ok
apply one then the other with a sprayer in swirling motions
(best to not go too heavy on the darker--purple one)---oops
and then
I chose to seal the floor with thompson's water seal
oops
they changed their formula, and this one was water based
and
it did not cure---still tacky 3 days in---
so, I went on line and sought information
one complainant-"donna" posted that she had contacted thompsons and discovered that the new formula needed uv light to cure
ok
I have uv lights, so I brought them down and turned them on
curing about 10% of the floor at a time, the water seal finally cured
-------------more time consuming-----
and then
I applied a polish which completed the finish coat
--------------------and
it looks good
a tad darker than I would wish
but nevertheless adequate

many things made the end product a tad iffy
however
the chosen choice was the best choice
now
what do I do with the 800 square feet of ii have stored in the basement?

the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley
and then, there is the rest of the crap we try
(sigh)
...........................................
In my shop, I applied a dry blue dye powder to the surface of the wet concrete
then trowled it in
when dry, it came out lighter than I wanted
then I applied a highly toxic sealer---gas masks and fans to evacuate the fumes--
then it darkened a bit, and foot traffic had darkened the exposed areas more
-----the goal was to make it look like water in a pond----
not quite there, but a darned site better'n concrete grey
and the stain/dye---made the surface harder
27 years of use, and it still looks great

(how few actually notice?)

 

[iceaura]

(how few actually notice?)

The overtones of a musical note are not there to be noticed - but they change everything.
Likewise the texture details of building walls, tree leaves and bark, prairie grasses and lake surfaces, as one moves toward, past, away.
Household clutter affects people, noticed or not.