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This is a very
important step and most manufacturers and even many "acid
stain professionals" don't take this next step in the
concrete stain process, which is critical to a beautiful
concrete acid stain application for your
floor.
D. Citrus-Magic
If the floor has some oil or grease or
really anything questionable on it we recommend that you
clean the floor with Citrus-Magic. Dilute with 8 parts water and scrub the floor
with a black pad and a buffer. Rinse and use a shop-vac
to remove residue, if possible always use a shop vac as
this will pull the residue and dirt out of the pores of
the concrete.
This step is only necessary if your concrete is
extremely dirty. If your concrete is normal or just
slightly dirty the following process is all that is
normally needed.
E. Super-Blue
Next dilute Super-Blue, 2 parts water to 1
part Super-Blue. If your concrete is only slightly dirty you
can dilute 3 to 1. (2 to
1-600 sq. ft. coverage-3 to1 900 sq.ft.
coverage) Moisten the concrete and use a
garden sprayer with all plastic inserts to spray the
dilution over the entire floor and scrub lightly. Make
sure to have proper ventilation. Let the mixture stand
for approximately 5 minutes or until all fizzing and
bubbles have ceased.
Use a buffer with a black pad and scrub the
floor thoroughly. Flood the floor with water and shop vac
the floor to achieve the cleanest floor possible for
concrete acid stain application. The reason we recommend
using a shop vac to clean up the water as opposed to just
mopping the floor is the shop vac gets up all the dirt
and crud out of the pores of the concrete.
The whole point of cleaning the floor is to give
the acid stain the opportunity to introduce the metal
salts in the stain to the free lime in the concrete. This
is what causes the color change.
If you have dirt and dirty water left over from
the mopping how can you achieve the best result. Quick
answer, You Can't.
The buffer can be rented from your local rental
shop or most Home Depots or Lowe's stores now have a
rental shop (about $40.00 per day).
F. Coverage
Make sure that your concrete is completely dry.
This sounds like an obvious statement but you would be
very surprised to know how many folks take this for
granted. When we say dry we mean that it is better to
leave the floor overnight to dry unless it is summer and
the AC is on and a few fans are turned on.
The reason for this precaution is that is if the
concrete is wet or even slightly damp this will dilute
the stain and probably require you to spray again,
therefore this is essential in the concrete acid stain
application process.
One coat of Perma Pro 2x Stain is all that is usually needed. You may feel that
you want to go back over the area and spray a little more
in some areas. Artistic Decor Stain can be applied at a
rate of 1 part water to 1 part stain.
The coverage rate will be around 300 sq.
ft. square feet per gallon. When applicable
after you have tested the stains in an inconspicuous
area, you may choose to dilute the stains more to achieve
a slightly lighter color. Artistic Decor Stain are what
we refer to as true
color stains and will not turn towards an orange
color as they are diluted as most other acid stains
will.
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