While acid stains are not new to the market -- they've been around since the 1920s -- they remain a favorite among contractors who have learned to successfully manipulate them. They're also an item of interest among those unfamiliar with how to do that. Besides the draw of their natural, variegated good looks, most contractors find their price point attractive.
"When a customer walks into your store, all eyes, ears and thoughts are on the economy these days," says Barbara Sargent, former national director and current north Texas retailer for Kemiko Concrete Products Inc. in Leonard, Texas. "A salesperson can open the door to the economics of reactive stains. They are extremely inexpensive per square foot."
Robert Cranford, of Specialty Concrete Products in West Columbia, S.C., agrees. Acid stains' product cost to contractors per square foot is somewhere between 50 cents and 70 cents, he estimates, depending on application technique and concrete profile. His estimate includes two coats each of SCP's acrylic sealer and Dura-Polish. SCP's Chrome-Etch acid stain by itself runs 19 cents to 21 cents a square foot, depending on the quantity needed and the slab's profile.
Sargent says she refers to acid stains as reactive stains. "'Reactive' is a friendlier term," she explains. "And I think it's more appropriate because it reacts with the free lime in the concrete."
Others, such as Corey Granger, president of Decorative Construction Supply in Dallas, stick with the term acid. "We're speaking their terminology," he says of the contractors he serves. Still others like to call the products chemical stains to differentiate them from their water-based imitators.
"No matter what term we use," notes Keith Oleachea, co-owner of Hardware Wholesale, a decorative concrete supply store in Poulsbo, Wash., "most customers we deal with are aware of the product and what it does."
Educating the new kids
What do distributors say to people who don't have experience with acid stains?
"We ask the appropriate questions to make sure it is the best fit for their project," Oleachea says. "'Is this for an interior or exterior application? Are you applying acid stains to a finished room or living space? Are you aware of the cleanup process for acid stains?'"
Customers often come back with their own array of questions: Are acid stains expensive? Are they easy to apply? How long should I leave them on? How long will they last? What colors are available? Can I mix them? How do I clean up after it's on? What do I wash it with? Do I have to neutralize? How soon can I seal it? What's the best sealer to use?
McCreery says sealer-related questions are the most common, but Granger maintains he gets asked more about floor prep. "If you don't properly clean up the residue after you stain, the floor surface can still be reactive and can take on impressions such as wheel marks and footprints," Granger says. "And if you don't rinse properly after you neutralize, you will have pH issues with water-based sealers."
What about DIYers who come into your store? "Retailers should have a list of professional applicators on hand to recommend," says Sargent. "They should stress to the homeowners that the stains are permanent should something go awry and that cleanup is not for the amateur."
Jeff Patterson, vice president for business development for Muller Construction Supply, based in San Jose, Calif., stresses that acid stains are unpredictable. "When customers come in and ask for an acid stain, I make sure they understand that it reacts differently depending on the concrete and they won't necessarily get the same hue time after time. If they apply it to concrete that's been in the weather for 20 years, the concrete may not react at all."
Ryan McCreery, decorative concrete sales and product manager for Jobsite Supply in Indianapolis, recommends, when possible, staining a 2-by-2-foot area on the actual floor that will be covered when the job is complete to get an idea what the floor will look like. "There's a lot more variability with acid stains than with other products," he says. "The colors won't always match the chart."
It's this unknown factor that makes acid stains troublesome in some instances while endearing in others. "I find it easy to sell acid stains when you explain to a customer about the chemical reaction with the concrete, and that their project will be custom," says Oleachea. "No two jobs are ever the same."
Not crayons
As for color selection, the acid stain pallet has remained fairly limited over the years, with a core of eight to 12 colors from which to choose. Granger predicts this lack of variation will eventually push acid stains aside in favor of their environmentally friendly water-based cousins.
Some companies, such as Kemiko (whose products are manufactured by Epmar Corp.), encourage combining colors and diluting colors to create new hues and shades. ColorMaker even publishes a chart that lists the ratios of different colors needed to create new ones.
Cranford says Specialty Concrete Products has a metallic chemical analyzer with which they can manipulate the properties of acid stains for color matching. But the company doesn't recommend contractors mix stains on their own. "Usually if you mix two of our acid stains together, you'll come out with a drab-looking brown," he says.
Contractors can create new colors by combining acid stains with other coloring products such as dyes, McCreery says, or by layering multiple colors one at a time. They also can get new colors by acid-staining integrally colored concrete.
Ed Benus, president of Color-Crown Corp., the Seffner, Fla., company that manufactures Stardek products, says Color-Crown has beefed up its color selection by adding translucent metallic flakes to the acid stain mixture. "We demoed this at the World of Concrete to a great response," he says.
Exploring its many uses
Back in their infancy, acid stains were mainly used in certain commercial sectors, says Benus. "The floors camouflaged things, especially in restaurants and warehouses," he explains. "And people visiting these places discovered how easy they were to clean up and maintain. Not to mention, when they were done properly, how beautiful they were."
Today, acid stains are used both inside and outside on everything from casinos, churches and showrooms to hotels, retail outlets and private residences throughout the country.
Regardless of its age, if a concrete floor is in OK shape, it sometimes just needs to be profiled before staining. However, if there is no lime left in an older floor, acid stain will not react and the color will not take. Benus recommends applying a microtopping to older floors. "My preference is to apply a grout coat first because it elevates the color and makes it bolder, brighter and more consistent. The acid takes a lot better," he says.
McCreery points out that, even though an acid stain job permanently covers a floor and won't chip or peel over time, there is always more that ought to be done. "Many people have a misconception it requires no maintenance," he says, "but it does require some."
Sealer is a particularly important purchase. "Acid stain is a good product, relatively easy to install, and it lasts forever," Cranford says. "But it needs to be maintained and sealed if the color is going to stay." He recommends two initial coats each of sealer and polish, and resealing every five to 10 years afterward, depending on the traffic and conditions of the slab. "The sealer brings life into the color, making it more vibrant. If you don't seal acid stains, the final color may not be achieved."
Acid Stain Shopping List
Watch That Wastewater
- by Stacey Enesey Klemenc
adapted from an article originally published in Decorative Concrete Retailer, Spring 2009
