Acid For Concrete Floor

You can also use acid in weaker concentrations to remove white mineral deposits efflorescence and heavy grime.

Acid for concrete floor.

No two acid stained floors will be the same. The acid in the stain lightly etches the surface allowing the metallic salts to penetrate more easily. It should be handled with extreme care. Most acid stainsare a mixture of water hydrochloric acid and acid soluble metallic salts.

My husband and i did our whole downstairs of our strawbale house with acid stain on our concrete floors. They work by penetrating the surface and reacting chemically with the hydrated lime calcium hydroxide in the concrete. Muriatic acid acts like liquid sandpaper by roughening the surface of the concrete. We too used quart spray bottles.

For many years it was a standard method of concrete preparation used by nearly all industrial commercial and institutional floor coating installers depending on the floor size and system to be installed. Many acid etching projects are carried out to prepare a concrete floor for the application of a synthetic epoxy or sealant. It also reduces the surface alkalinity of the concrete that can cause some paints to adhere poorly. We scored the concrete first into 18 blocks which are now grouted so they look like tiles.

Muriatic acid available in a variety of colors penetrates concrete and reacts to the lime deposits coloring the surface and giving a unique mottled swirly finish. Metallic acid salts and. Acid washing also known as acid etching prepares a concrete surface to accept a sealer. Your floors look great.

When acid staining concrete it s extremely important to clean the concrete very well before doing anything else. Then i used a vacuum to remove all of the dust dirt and debris. Aesthetically concrete floors are a good match for homes with a modern or industrial style and are less suitable for classic vintage home styles. I started by scraping any dried drywall mud and paint off the floor.

Muriatic acid is diluted hydrochloric acid. Acid washing is dangerous for people plants and metal objects especially indoors where fumes can concentrate. A polished and acid stained concrete floor will likely look out of place in a classic colonial style home for example but fit quite nicely into a contemporary style home. If this steely neutral isn t your style you can update your patio basement floor or concrete countertop in a range of eye catching colors using acid stain technology.

Acid etching is the process of applying hydrochloric muriatic or buffered phosphoric acid to a slab then rinsing it off with water. You roughen such a floor by etching it with muriatic acid. But everything can be done by even a beginning diyer.