Pouring Colored Concrete
What You Need To Know Before Ordering Pigment
Many of our customers are building houses or pouring slabs and have questions about how to mix color into concrete correctly. While adding pigment to the concrete before pouring a slab is by far the easiest option, customers still need to ask a few important questions to get the color and appearance they’re hoping for. Before ordering your concrete pigment, call the ready-mix company responsible for pouring your concrete and ask the following questions:
1) What PSI or sack mix will the company be pouring?
The colors on Direct Colors Concrete Pigment Color Chart are created using a 5 sack mix or 3000 psi concrete. If the psi for your concrete is higher, the concrete pigment calculation will change. The amount of pigment needed will increase with the psi of the concrete.
2) What percentage of fly ash will be added to the concrete?
Excessive fly ash in the concrete can lighten the final color of a slab. 20% or less fly ash is acceptable with 10% being ideal.
3) How many yards of concrete will be poured?
The number of yards poured determines how many pounds of pigment will be needed to achieve a specific color.
TIP: To ensure complete mixing, ask the Ready-mix company to add the concrete pigment before leaving the plant. The pigment should be mixed with the concrete for a minimum of 15-20 minutes prior to pouring. For exact pigment for truck pour measurements, visit our project calculator and select the custom batch calculator. Remember to seal the concrete anytime from 15 to 30 days after the pour to protect the color.
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How Was This Concrete Acid Stain Project Done?
By far the picture of a Shawnee, Oklahoma dentist’s office is the most popular project photo with our customers. The floor was designed and installed by Link Cowen of DecoCrete Inc. Mr. Cowen is a professional builder and concrete artisan but that shouldn’t stop a home or business owner from creating this beautiful finish in their own home or office.
Getting Started: Surface Prep and Overlay
The surface was prepped and cleaned using a swing buffer with a 150 grit sanding pad or by cleaning with a solution of water and Simple Green Degreaser. The condition of the floor will determine whether mechanical profiling will be required. A floor need simply be free of debris, level with no holes or broken areas to successfully overlay.
Link has selected DCI Smooth White Overlay for this project and used a pool trowel to apply, leaving half-moon marks on the surface for added texture. Concrete Overlay is specially-designed to produce the most robust reaction and acid stain colors. See our DCI Concrete Overlay brochure for more information and application techniques.
Applying the Acid Stain
Acid Stain can be applied in many ways to create different effects on the floor. Link cut the Malayan Buff acid stain 1 part water to 1 part stain to produce a more golden appearance. Keep in mind that the golden color can only be achieved on white concrete. The stain was applied with a pump-up all plastic sprayer. He followed with a heavily diluted 10-1 solution of Coffee Brown Acid Stain both sprayed and lightly poured on the surface to create the “wash” look of the stain. The darker accents were applied with the sprayer tip close to the surface to produce a “pooling effect.”
Finish with the concrete sealer of your choice. A high gloss sealer was used on this floor. Decorative concrete is both an art and science. Much of the style is up to the individual. Good luck with your own projects and call us with your questions, 877-255-2656.
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Do-It-Yourself Concrete Art Ideas
Direct Colors has everything you need for small concrete projects like garden décor, statuary, cultured stone and more.
Create beautiful colors and artistic creations with Deco Gel gelled acid stain, concrete acid stain or concrete pigment.
Visit the customer photo gallery for inspiration and give our customer service technicians a call!
We can help you make almost any project idea a reality any time of the year! Concrete decor is also a wonderful unfinished gift for the “crafty” person in your life.
Get “Concrete Creative” with Direct Colors!
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Give Any Room a COMPLETE Makeover
with Direct Colors!
James K. of Texas recently finished an addition to his home. Using Coffee Brown Acid Stain and Deco Gel, he created a beautiful countertop, fireplace surround and flooring for his new living space.
James wrote, “We finally finished our room addition and thought y’all might like to see what we did with the help of Direct Colors.”
The Deco Gel was applied to the fireplace surround and countertop while the floor was stained with a diluted Coffee Brown Acid Stain. All the surfaces, including the stonework, were sealed with
High Gloss Solvent Sealer.
“Thanks for everything and we will be calling on Direct Colors Inc. again.”
You too can renovate a room in your home or office with Direct Colors products. Call us today to discuss your next Do-It-Yourself-With-Direct-Colors project!
View more concrete countertop and flooring project photos.
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Concrete Pigment Isn’t Just For a Slab!
For pennies on the dollar, add that extra touch of custom color to your brick mortar. Mortar can look a boring gray but not when you include concrete pigment in the mix! Direct Colors offers dozens of color options on our gray-based chart to match any brick pattern.
MIXING TIP: For best results, combine the concrete pigment and mortar dry in the mixer before adding water. Visit the how-to guide section of the website for complete mixing instructions.
Here’s a few of our most popular colors:
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Doing It Yourself – Creating a Unique Acid Stained Floor Design
Bob in California emailed us photos with a description of his project. Folks living in especially arid climates should pay particular attention his suggestions. “Thanks for a fine product and great instructions. It was a lot of hard work but the results are fine and the DCI floor wax and polish really made it “pop”. We are happy with the project and the economy of covering 1250 feet of floor space for only about $400. Our total cost was a bit more than 50 cents per square foot!”
“The temperature when I stained the floors was in the high 70s but humidity was 15% so even wetting the concrete I don’t think the solution stayed wet long enough for the acid to its full effect. The main color is Malayan Buff. The darker highlight is Cola I squirted on from a spray bottle. My intent was to make it looks like intermittent intrusions into the base. I also did not want it to be perpendicular to any of the walls so that is why it is at an angle.”
“Due to the low humidity, spreading the sealer with the pad is the best way. It took a day for prep and stain, a day for neutralizing and washing, and another day for more washing and first seal coat. The first seal coat used half the 5 gallon container as the concrete really soaked it in but the second coat probably did not use more than a half gallon. I found a shop vacuum extremely useful in gathering up the water when cleaning the floor. A floor squeegee ($5) came in handy for pushing the water on the floor.”
“It was our first time and we are happy with the results. We plan to do more staining next fall so that puts us in the class of satisfied DIY customers.”
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Overlay Magic: Create the Floor You’ve Always Wanted!
Direct Colors manufactures one of the most durable, easy-to-work with concrete overlays in the industry. We knew our customers could do almost anything with our product whether commercial or residential, but contractors Travis and Rachel Lane with PT Concrete take it to a higher level.
Working primarily with DCI Smooth White Overlay, Rachel has created beautiful designs using acid stain, concrete dye and concrete pigment specific to each customer’s unique personality. The sky really is the limit with decorative concrete these days and in the hands of an artisan, concrete can look like wood, stone or any kind of traditional flooring and better.
DCI Concrete Overlay can be hand-troweled smooth with a magic trowel, stamped or textured. If you have a heavily stained, slightly damaged or generally unattractive concrete slab – indoors or out – you’d like to start over with, this is the product. You don’t have to be an expert to overlay a concrete floor, just a little bit handy. Give us a call for advice on your next project and we’ll provide all the technical assistance you’ll need to get the job done right yourself!
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What Can You Do With Concrete Pigment?
What can you do with Concrete Pigment? You might be surprised…..
Diane with Tiles with Style sent us a few photos of her remarkable work. Even we couldn’t believe what beautiful and creative projects could be created with our concrete pigments.
Diane particularly likes our blue concrete pigment for use with mortar and grout. She writes, “it makes the design come alive. I am a huge advocate of your concrete pigment colors.
I not only use them myself in my ceramic tile installations, but I recommend them to all of my clients. I tell them the grout color can play an integral part in the overall design. They don’t have to use just one color, but two or more to create depth, or they can blend them to create a vast array of effects.”
Direct Colors Concrete Pigments can be used with most any cement-based material, including stucco, plaster and overlay. Try one of our integral color sample kits to find the right color for your summer project today!
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Direct Colors Sponsors Collegiate Concrete Canoe Competitions Nationwide!
Get Creative with Direct Colors Acid Stain!
The Teel family of Florida had a vision for their floors and after some hard work, they created a beautiful home and did it all themselves!
Mr. Teel began by troweling down a ¼ in. coat of DCI Smooth Gray Overlay. He applied the overlay with a 12” and 18” Magic Trowel – an excellent choice for smooth finished surfaces. DCI Concrete Overlay is specially formulated to produce a robust reaction with acid stain creating rich, vibrant colors every time.
After the overlay had cured, Mr. Teel applied Malayan Buff for the basecoat and accented the floor with Avocado and Azure Blue Acid Stains. Using the techniques of pouring the Azure Blue and Avocado directly on the floor and applying the stain with the sprayer nozzle very close to the surface, he was able to create a veined effect throughout the house. Mr. Teel also applied Azure Blue Deco Gel to fashion a circular free-hand design on the floor.
The Teel’s were looking for a glossy finish but didn’t want the strong odor of a solvent-based based sealer in their home so they selected the Krystal Kote High Gloss Water Based Sealer. Mr. Teel applied the sealer with 12” Padco Floor Coater and 10” Trim Pad for the hard to reach areas. To preserve the luster and shine of his sealed indoor surfaces, Teel waxed his floors with DCI Residential Floor Wax and Polish.
Direct Colors has taken special care in formulating products that professionals and homeowners alike can apply with equal success. We take great pride in presenting the Teel’s project to our customers and hope you too will be inspired to tackle your own decorative concrete project this year!
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