Concrete is an apt flooring material that you can use for any part of your house, be it indoor or outdoor, including the living room, kitchen, backyard, and even the garage.

However, the real beauty of concrete lies in its finishing. There may be many ways to add finishing touches to your concrete flooring, but one of the best methods would be to stain and seal them.

Staining concrete is like adding color to it, and you can use different techniques to get a multicolored texture.

Concrete staining is a rather complicated process that involves several steps where you will need to use special materials called stainers.

 What are Concrete Stains?

Concrete stains are materials that come in handy for the staining process. There are two kinds of concrete stains: water-based stains and acid-based stains. Water-based stains are easy to use but fade quickly, especially when cleaning the slabs.

However, you can get a more vibrant look using water-based stains since they come in various colors and hues. Also, these materials are less reactive and don’t readily change the color of your flooring. Due to this, they may also not be as durable as acid-based stains, and you ought to use them only as decors, or highlights, on the borders.

Acid vs. Water-based Concrete Stains

Acid stains are more reactive than their water-based counterparts but come in fewer colors. However, they can penetrate deep into the slab contents where the metallic salts react with lime – the base material that makes up concrete.

So, a chemical reaction occurs that permanently binds concrete with the stain, leading to the color change. Since the binding is permanent, the color stays for as long as the concrete and doesn’t crack or peel off easily.

After applying an acid-based concrete stain to your flooring, you might want to leave it for about four hours to a day to set. Remember that the longer you leave your flooring to set, the deeper the penetration will be and the better the color permanence.

The average cost of water-based and acid-based stains is about $50 a gallon. However, applying them to your concrete flooring may cost you another $7 to $15 per square foot, depending on your contractor.

Why Use Concrete Stains?

You have many reasons for applying concrete stains on your flooring. For instance, they are much thinner than your average paints and don’t peel or crack as easily. Moreover, concrete stains are semi-translucent, meaning that you can see a part of your concrete flooring lying beneath them.

Concrete stains also give a more natural look to your slabs as they work to get deep into and merge with the underlying and inner materials, unlike paint which covers only the surface.

Similarly, a few more factors affect how concrete stains work.

1.     Both acid- and water-based stains affect the concrete’s color. For instance, while acid-based ones permanently change the color of your flooring, water-based solutions give it a more semi-translucent look.
2.     The stains react with the concrete, depending on its size, finish, and materials.
3.     Similarly, other factors, such as age and weather conditions, also affect how the stains react with the concrete contents.

What is a Concrete Stain Sealer?

As you already know, concrete stains, especially water-based ones, are not as durable and prone to fade. Now, several factors affect the durability of concrete stains, including harsh weather conditions. So, the stains on your outdoor floors may fade away as rains continuously lash or vehicles tread on them. For these reasons, you might want to refrain from staining outdoor flooring, especially with water-based materials.

However, don’t forget to use a concrete stain sealer here. Sealers help protect the stains from withering away and are especially useful when you have coated your floors with water-based solutions.

Uses of Concrete Stain Sealers

Most concrete stain sealers are wax-based. However, you also get sealers that come with several layers of urethane over epoxy. These are useful if you live in an area with high traffic.

Besides epoxy and urethane sealers, you also get acrylic concrete stain sealers that are UV-stable, cost-effective, and easy to apply and reuse.

Concrete stain sealers find many applications, but some advantages of using them on your flooring include:

1.     They help protect the stains from various external factors, such as extreme weather conditions and water-based cleaning agents and help increase their durability.
2.     Acrylic sealers are UV-stable and remain unaffected when exposed to sunlight. So, you can apply them on outdoor flooring to provide the protection it needs.
3.     You can also couple acrylic sealers with water-based ones and use them indoors so that your stains get ample protection.
4.     Epoxy sealers find use in high-traffic places since they are harder and more durable than their acrylic counterparts.
5.     Urethane sealers are the most rigid and durable but don’t offer UV stability and are expensive. So, you may not be able to use them on outdoor flooring.

Conclusion

Acrylic concrete stain sealers may be affordable and UV-stable. However, they are the softest material types, and you may need to apply additional layers of a water-based sealer or wax.

Epoxies are more durable than their acrylic counterparts. However, they trap the moisture, and you must test for this when applying the sealer.

Urethane sealers are the hardest of the three kinds of concrete stain sealers and offer the most resistance. However, they are not UV-stable. Moreover, you must apply them over water-based epoxies so that they bind with the stains.

Here’s an overview of the three concrete stain sealers.