A decorative acid stain is an affordable and simple way to revitalize any of your old concrete floors. However, if you want to ensure that your acid stain floor lasts a long time and looks great, you have to pay extra attention to the surface preparation phase. If you don’t then you could end up with a pretty terrible looking floor. If you are interested in upgrading a concrete surface with an acid stain in Portland, Oregon, Bach Custom Coatings has successfully completed hundreds of floors throughout the city. We have written this short guide to outline the main steps of preparing a surface for an acid stain.
Unlike epoxy coatings, decorative acid stains are transparent. If there is a stain or an imperfection on the original concrete surface it will likely show through once the acid stain is complete. Chemical acid stains work by using mild acid and metallic salts to create a chemical reaction. The acid opens up deep pores in the concrete, which allows the metallic salts to interact with the free-lime and calcium.
In order to work, an acid stain must be absorbed deep into the concrete. Substances like oil and grease prevent the acid stain chemicals from penetrating the concrete and mixing with the lime. You have to completely clean your concrete floor before it is ready for an acid stain. At a minimum, you can use chemical strippers or concrete cleaning products to make sure that your floor is spotless.
There are hundreds of different products out there, so you will have to do some research to determine which products work best to remove certain stains. Aggressively cleaning the entire surface of your concrete floor with a scrub brush until it is immaculate is a good start. The cleaner the surface, the better the acid stain will look in the end, but even utilizing these techniques will most likely not effectively prepare the floor for an acid stain.
At Bach Custom Coatings, we use professional techniques. including diamond grinding, that will ensure the floor is ready for an acid stain that will last for many years to come.
Acid Stain For Concrete Floors Portland Oregon
It can be difficult and time-consuming to carefully scrub an entire concrete floor by yourself and renting machinery can be cost prohibitive, which is why it is often better to let the professionals handle acid staining. At Bach Custom Coatings, we can turn your boring kitchen, basement or garage floor in Portland, Oregon into a work of art.