Question: How To Stain And Polish Concrete?

How much does it cost to stain and polish concrete floors?

Here are the base prices for popular concrete floor finishes: Stained Concrete Cost – $2 to $4 per square foot. Concrete Overlay Cost – $3 to $7 per square foot. Polished Concrete Cost – $3 to $12 per square foot.

What is the best way to polish concrete?

Grind with a 150-grit metal-bonded diamond (or finer, if desired). Apply a chemical hardener to densify the concrete. Polish with a 100- or 200-grit resin-bond diamond, or a combination of the two. Polish with a 400-grit resin-bond diamond.

What is the easiest way to stain concrete?

Dampen the area with water but do not let it puddle. Spray in an overlapping manner, maintaining a wet edge. Allow acid stain to react with the concrete floor for at least 6-hours. Clean residue and pour water on floor to approximate the final color.

What to use to clean concrete before staining?

Patching Floors Before Staining



For general-purpose cleaning and degreasing, Schmidt sweeps the floor and then scrubs it thoroughly using trisodium phosphate (TSP). For scrubbing, he recommends using a rotary floor scrubber with a green Nylo-Grit pad designed for aggressive scrubbing of concrete.

Is concrete staining cheaper than tile?

Staining a concrete floor typically costs less than tiling. Installing ceramic or porcelain tile costs on average between $15 and $20 per square foot.

Is stained concrete flooring a good option?

Concrete floors are a great alternative to linoleum, carpet, wood, tile, stone or marble flooring. Concrete can be stained nearly any color, resurfaced in a variety of textures and finishes, or polished for a smooth, shiny look. Plus, concrete flooring is durable, long-lasting and easy to clean and maintain.

Can I polish concrete yourself?

To polish concrete the do-it-yourself way, you’re going to need a concrete grinder. In addition, you’ll have to get your hands on an assortment of grinding discs (in a wide variety of grits, from 30 to 3,000) as well as polishing pads. Polishing concrete bears some similarities to sanding a hardwood floor.

Can I polish my concrete floor?

Almost any structurally sound concrete floor, whether new or old, can be polished. However there are some exceptions, for example with new floors no special mix design is required to achieve good results – although the floor should be in place at least 28 days before polishing begins to ensure adequate curing.

Is it better to stain or paint concrete?

Concrete stain embeds the surface to color it translucently, while opaque concrete paint covers the top of the concrete but is subject to chipping and peeling when improperly applied. Concrete stains go on quicker, dry faster and take less work than concrete paint, but they offer no significant protection.

What is the cheapest way to stain concrete?

There are products on the market that will paint or resurface concrete but to go cheap, use the least expensive oil base stain or paint you can find. Mix the paint/stain with paint thinner in a 50-50 solution. That is one gallon of paint to one gallon of paint thinner.

How long after staining concrete can you seal it?

Be sure and remove any residue left behind if using our acid stain, then apply sealer. Don’t seal too soon as there could be moisture in the floor and hazing can occur. A good rule of thumb is to wait 24 hours time after any water has been applied to the floor before sealing.

Does concrete stain last?

Although concrete stain is permanent and won’t flake off like paint, it penetrates only the top layer of the concrete surface and will eventually wear away as the surface is worn by traffic or weather exposure.

Is it hard to stain concrete?

IS IT HARD TO STAIN CONCRETE? Overall, staining concrete can look like a simple process. However, it is important to keep in mind that while your stain is permanent, so are your mistakes.

Do you have to sand concrete before staining?

If the concrete floors are particularly smooth or have been polished, you should sand them before staining. The best concrete surface for staining is rough and porous to allow good color penetration. Smooth, glossy surfaces will prevent all types of stains, even acid stains, from properly sticking to the floor.