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Colored, decorative concrete adds beauty to your landscaping and interior construction projects. Coloring concrete is easy, and the coloring process can be done in many ways. If you're a contractor or a DIYer, knowing how to color your concrete projects, including which colorants are best for which scenarios, is important. In this guide, we'll talk about how to color concrete.
At Discount Contractor Supply, we can help you create beautiful, vivid concrete pathways and structures. Whether you're installing concrete at your home or for your construction business, this is what you need to know.
Decorative concrete can transform your indoor and outdoor spaces. Concrete colorants offer a range of palette options to match the surrounding landscaping or building finishes. Concrete colorants range from earth tones and neutrals to vibrant shades.
Colorants combined with textures can make your concrete resemble natural stone, brick, and other surfaces. Colorant can also be used to give your concrete a marbled effect, stripes, and other patterning. Using the right products for your concrete coloring is important, to ensure a long-lasting finish.
There are five ways to color concrete. The process you choose should depend on the weather, climate, conditions during the pour, the effects you're trying to achieve, and what materials are easiest for you to use. If you're a contractor, you may get used to using one specific type of colorant. Having many options in your toolbox can help you achieve the desired effect. Use alternative colorant options from time to time to ensure that you're comfortable offering a range of coloring choices to your customers.
Concrete stain is an acidic material that bonds with concrete, offering a permanent coloring that doesn't wear down over time or chip off (like paints). Stains do not apply color evenly, so if even coloring is important, concrete paint or dye may be a more effective colorant. Stains can help create a special effect, like marbling, which relies on inconsistent color coverage to achieve its effect.
Concrete dye comes in different forms, including integral dye - which is mixed with wet concrete - or extrinsic dye, which is absorbed into concrete pores for subtle coloring.
Integral dye is mixed with wet concrete to create a consistent color. The dye is mixed with concrete while it is wet before it is poured. Once the dye has been mixed with the concrete, it's poured and allowed to cure. Integral dye can be made from a variety of additives including synthetic pigments and natural pigments.
Extrinsic concrete dye is a translucent, non-reactive coloring agent. Extrinsic dye applies a consistent color across the surface of the concrete. This is different from stain, which is etched into the concrete pores. Extrinsic dye comes in a powdered form and is often used in interior spaces.
Concrete paint is an opaque colorant that fills concrete pores and provides a thick layer of coverage. Like other types of paint, concrete paint can chip off over time and needs to be refreshed periodically. Concrete paint is useful for painting patterns on your concrete surfaces and can project brilliant colors that are otherwise difficult to achieve. This is the colorant of choice when you're painting a mural or a message on your concrete floor.
Tinted sealer delivers a soft, subtle color. In addition to adding color, tinted sealers protect your concrete from water, rain, ice, and more. Tinted sealer is commonly used on pool decks and patios. Unfortunately, concrete sealer wears off with time and needs to be reapplied when this happens. It's important to use the same product each time sealer is re-applied, or the appearance of the concrete will change with each new application.
A dry-shake hardener is a powder that's applied to your concrete once the concrete is freshly applied. Once the powder is evenly distributed over the concrete, the hardener is worked gently into the surface with a float or trowel. Dry shake hardeners are made up of colorants that help strengthen the concrete.
When coloring concrete, it's important to follow these best practices to ensure that your project will be a success.
While some contractors use their drills to mix concrete, drills are not made for this task. Mixing concrete requires a lot of power - power that drill motors don't always have. Drills can easily overheat while mixing concrete, putting the batch of concrete and the drill at risk. While drills with mixer attachments can sometimes be effective on small batches, it's best to use a concrete mixer for big jobs.
Know what to expect before committing to one shade and type of colorant. Make samples to show clients or to help you decide which colorant is best for your project.
Add texture to your decorative concrete to enhance the results. Stamped concrete has character and projects a rough, non-slip surface. Concrete stamp patterns can be created in many ways, including through the use of texture rollers and stamps.
Use tools you can count on. Purchase your concrete colorants from reputable suppliers. At Discount Contractor Supply, we provide a range of concrete colorants and other tools to make your projects a success.
Why spend more money than you have to on concrete tools and supplies? Get your concrete mixing and concrete supplies from a supplier you can trust.
Professionals and DIYers alike turn to Discount Contractor Supply for tools of all types. To learn more about how to color concrete and which tools are best, contact us. We're your source for concrete colorants and other tools.