Staining the Outdoor Concrete...First Coat Applied

One of the millions of projects I had this year was staining the outdoor patios.  Below is the second coat that I just applied and it's still wet..  When the patios are done, I am hoping this is what it will look dry.  I am certain I will need to add a gloss coat to give it a sheen...but this is hopefully the final result when I am done.

I powerwashed the porches several times but it had stains.  I should have put on a "cleaner" first but I had no idea what was involved.  The other thing I should have done was sweep before powerwashing.  I didn't because I felt it would be taken away by the washer....it equated to more work than necessary.  Below is a picture before I stained it.

You see where potted plants have caused stains.  Before they come back I will need to make sure they don't.

It's weird that one side of the porch looks spotless & the other stained.

This is the stain.  It has acid in it so I made sure to have glasses, gloves & other protective clothing especially if you are using a sprayer.  The color I used was Cola.  If you want to see more about the product or pictures of finished concrete done by professionals...click  HERE.  It costs about $70 a gallon & according to the website cover 400 sq feet if you use two coats....I would use two coats...so considering that it's cheaper & easier than tile....I feel like it's a good value...assuming it will look like the above picture when I'm done.  

If you ever used a sprayer, you know how it shoots liquid when you open it, so be careful.

I sprayed the first coat.  Prep time takes a whole lot longer then actually spraying which takes 20 mins.

The stain reacts with the concrete...I think.

The concrete has cracks which actually looked good...It has given it a marble appearance.  This is shortly after application, but remember this isn't a paint.  I let dry overnight.

This morning, this is what the first coat look like. You definitely see spots etc but I am hoping that the second coat will smooth it out further.

Before the second coat has been applied

Weird how some of the concrete doesn't look touched but I wasn't going for a uniform look.

I do like the cracks.  Worse case scenario on the circle...the plant is going back here anyway.  But on the back porches I will probably chemically treat it.

Second coat has just been applied

I'll let you know tomorrow how it went.

Hours Later...still not completely dry but close...I like it...it isn't a dramatic change but it has an old world feel about it....the plain white concrete...just looked "undone" to me....it's relatively easy to do...prepping it is the most work of all of it...Still need to gloss/seal it...