Your contractor will wash and cut the concrete slab once the concrete is ready, which is usually hours after the concrete is poured. Although you may not want saw cuts, as they may take away from the natural look, they are absolutely necessary. Be sure to discuss the location of saw cuts with your contractor prior to pouring the concrete so that you are prepared once the process begins.
Once the area is thoroughly cleaned, you will see the integral color with accents of the release color. However, final colors will not appear until the concrete is sealed and fully cured. These products have become the chosen brand for decorative concrete applications.
Understand that sealed surfaces may be slippery during application, prior to drying and when wet with water or liquids after drying. Use of a non-slip additive when sealing is recommended on exterior applications and a non-slip wax on interior applications. If you are looking for more of a matte finish, ask about Butterfield Color Flattening Paste. Maintaining your newly stamped concrete is important.
Periodically inspect cured and sealed surfaces for wear or damage. All concrete curing compounds will eventually exhibit the effects of weathering and traffic. For maximum coating life and performance, wipe up all chemical solvent or petroleum spills as soon as possible. Remove abrasive debris by sweeping or vacuuming. Check out the formulas below to see how contractors combine color hardeners, release agents, stamping tools, sealers and additives to create unique colors, textures and finishes for their stamped concrete work.
Because the options for integral color are usually limited to earthtones and pastels, this method is often used in conjunction with surface-applied coloring treatments to enrich the color and provide variation.
Dry-Shake Color Hardeners Probably the most popular method for coloring stamped concrete is the use of dry-shake color hardeners.
Unlike integral pigments, which color the entire concrete matrix, dry shakes are hand broadcast onto the surface of the freshly placed concrete and color only the top layer. Because the color is concentrated at the surface, it tends to be more intense than integral color.
Color hardeners also improve the strength and density of the concrete surface and create a rich surface paste that helps to produce sharper imprints. Brick-red stamped concrete achieved with a solid-color acrylic stain. Surface-Applied Color Stamped concrete contractors often use integral or dry-shake color in conjunction with surface-applied coloring mediums.
This layering of color is what gives stamped concrete such natural-looking color variations, such as you would see in real stone. The options include:.
Find products for coloring stamped concrete. For more information on coloring stamped concrete check out the latest trends in stamped concrete patterns and coloring processes. White concrete can be created using white Portland cement or by adding titanium dioxide to the mix.
Variegated Color Accents. Natural stone often features multiple colors. To achieve an authentic look with stamped concrete many contractors hand-color their work to create variegation or marbling. In this case, custom mixed colors were selectively applied to mimic the highlights present in natural slate.
See more examples of slate stamped concrete. A Perfect Match. The border color was walnut mixed with an oyster white color hardener to lighten it slightly.
As durable as concrete is, there can be some problems that may come up. Below are a few questions and answers from expert Chris Sullivan. Question: How can I change the color of a stamped slab after it has been poured? The customer was not happy with gray and now wants a reddish-brown color. Answer: You can change the color of stamped work once it has been placed by applying different types of stains, tints, or dyes. The type of coloring method you use will depend on the look desired and amount of color changed needed.
Here's a handy guide:. When using any of these methods to change or adjust concrete color, be sure to profile the surface according to the product manufacturer's recommendations to ensure proper penetration and adhesion. In addition, the surface should be completely dry and the temperature above 50 F and below 90 F.
Finally, no matter what method you use, always prepare a small sample for pre-approval by the client. Question: I have a pool deck in which the sealer seems to be flaking off and coming up in some areas.
This is not an issue that we have dealt with before, so I am a little concerned. Can you let us know what is occurring and how we can remedy this issue? Answer: This is actually one of the most common issues we face with coloring stamped concrete. It is in fact not a sealer issue, but rather the antiquing color that is causing the sealer to fail.
The sealer failure can occur within weeks of application, but more often shows up 6 to 12 months down the road. Imprinted concrete looks pretty bland and unrealistic without highlights or antiquing, which give the pattern definition and color variation.
These highlights make the concrete look like stone, tile or whatever natural material the installer is trying to mimic. The highlights can be accomplished in a multitude of ways, with release powder being the most common.
Other popular methods include stains, tints, dyes and colored sealers. Virtually any means of getting some contrasting color to stick in the depressions and textured areas of the surface will work. Details on where, when and how aside, the question remains — what are the coloring options for stamped concrete? The two most common methods are integral color and color hardener, also known as dry-shake color.
Personally, I am a color hardener fan. There is nothing wrong with integral color, and it is by far the more popular coloring option, but color hardener offers some distinct advantages. Color hardener is a blend of cement, sands, color and, in some cases, admixtures such as wetting agents and dispersants.
The two big advantages it has over other coloring options are surface strength and color intensity. Color hardener is applied to the surface of the concrete after screeding and floating, but while the surface is still wet.
The sand and cement in the color hardener increase the strength of the surface paste, increasing the overall surface strength of the concrete by as much as 1, psi. The strength advantage is also evident in the increased durability the extra sand and cement bring to the party. The hardened surface is also richer in color, since all the color remains in the paste and is not diluted in the concrete. The color is more consistent, too, as any variations in the base concrete mix are never in play.
Yes, there can be an issue if the concrete is chipped and the underlying gray concrete color comes shining through, but in all my years in the business I have only witnessed this on a few occasions. The downside to color hardener is that is adds an extra step, skill is required in knowing how and when to apply it, and it can be a dusty mess if the wind is blowing or it is misapplied.
Integral color, the other coloring option, has become the hands-down favorite among stamped concrete installers in recent years, mainly because it is easy and has become readily available. When I started selling pigment in the decorative concrete industry almost 20 years ago, colored concrete was rare and very few ready-mix installers offered it, let alone promoted it. Today, larger ready-mix producers have an automated color-dispensing system and at a minimum sell and promote colored concrete.
There are also many contractors who will throw the color into the back of the ready-mix truck when it arrives on-site. Also, be prepared to pay extra, as some ready-mix suppliers have surcharges and fees for adding your own color.
The downside to integral color is the possibility of color inconsistency, especially on larger jobs. Since the color is added to the concrete, any inconstancies in the gray base concrete will be reflected in the final colored concrete. Batch-to-batch consistency and how the concrete is handled and placed at the job site become critical.
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