Acid Stain Garage

[chargd72]

I was entertaining the idea of epoxying the garage but heard a lot of horror stories about getting that stuff to stick.  I had some left over supplies from staining the concrete in my old house so thought I would use it up.  Had to buy another $140 in materials but with two coats of sealer it should hold up pretty well.  Plus, I like the colors that came out of the slab.

[JB400]

Looks good.   Plan on doing the same.

[Dino]

Looks good.  I'd do the same in my garage but there's too many cracks to make it worthwhile. 

[DadsCharger00]

So is it hard to do? My wife and I are considering this in our new house basement. Here in Colorado if u finish ur basement u have to have a floating floor.  Just extra money you don't have to spend by acid staining.

[Musicman]

Looks good from here 

[Silver R/T]

Are you putting epoxy coating over this?

[chargd72]

Thanks guys!  The car made its first true voyage.  The new house is only about 2 miles away from our current place.  I stuck a GoPro on the hood for sh*ts and giggles.  It looks good sitting in there. 

[chargd72]

So is it hard to do? My wife and I are considering this in our new house basement. Here in Colorado if u finish ur basement u have to have a floating floor.  Just extra money you don't have to spend by acid staining.

I didn't take all the necessary steps since it was just a garage and didn't care about the color underneath.  When I did it in our house it was much more invasive.  I laid down a new concrete overlay to hide marks and scuffs left by our builders on the slab.  Like most jobs the prep work is the hardest.  If you take your time and use good quality products it turns out really nice.  This was a red color I used in our old house.

[chargd72]

Are you putting epoxy coating over this?

Nope.  This is the final product.  The sealer is rock hard and should be able to handle drips, heat and dropped tools much better than epoxy.

[DadsCharger00]

  WOW that living space looks great. I'm hoping I won't have to lay another layer in the basement of the house considering it will be brand new. Thinking a good power washing and it should be good to go. If you don't mind, what's the name of the product you bought, and where did ya get it? 

[chargd72]

I used Kemiko products.  They are what's sold to most contractors who you would hire to do the job proffesionally.  I got it at a contractor stain retailer here in Austin.  I'm sure they have them in Denver or Fort Collins or whatever is closest to you. 

If the house is being built, I would ask the builder to not write on the concrete.  When I tore up my carpet there were wall measurements and spilled paint everywhere.  The sharpie would not come up so I had to do the overlay.

[John L]

When putting any "film building"(not your concrete stain) product over a concrete floor, the most important item is the vapor barrier. If there is no vapor barrier the chances are very high no matter what you put on it will come off. Most newer homes will have the vapor barrier there due to code requirements. I've done dozens of epoxy floors over the years and will not take on a job where I cannot verify if the plastic sheeting is under the slab.
Peeling paint is usually caused by moisture coming from behind the surface and pushing the paint off, hence the importance of the vapor barrier.

Your stained floor looks great we don't see much of that around here. That being said the house I'm currently working on is going to be getting the basement floor stained. I plan to be there while it is being done just so I can see the process first hand.

[odcics2]

I laid down muratic acid to clean and etch the concrete first.
Rinsed twice with water. Let it dry for 2 days (done in the summer)

Then, the epoxy.   Filled cracks first - both large and small.

Best part is that it seals out the moisture. Lived there over 12 years with no peeling.
Raw cut metal never even rusted...     

Best way to keep out the moisture is to lay down 4 mil plastic, overlapping the layers, prior to pouring the concrete slab(s)