Acid Stain is one of a stager's very best options as far as a fantastic upgrade at a rock bottom price.
You can acid-stain garages, exterior pathways, patios, laundry rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms, swimming pool areas,
ANYWHERE YOU HAVE CONCRETE SUBSTRATES!
If you have a cement floor underneath undesirable flooring, this gorgeous option costs your seller a whopping 50 cents a square foot or less on average including the sealer ( on Kemiko Brand Acid Stain...the best stain on the market today)!
There are a variety of colors and finishes to choose from, and this is a DO-IT-YOURSELF project. If you know how to scrub a floor and pump a bug sprayer, you have all the skills necessary to acid-stain. Professionals are taking this inexpensive and easy-to-do product and charging thousands of dollars per project.
The criteria for a floor to receive a sucessful acid stain is simply:
Clean, dry concrete that has not been previously etched with muratic acid.
You need to clean the concrete, even if it's brand new, with TSP (Tri Sodium Phosphate...same thing as Spic-n-Span). This product removes oils that could have been tracked in by walking thru motor oil and leaving traces on the concrete. Oil clogs pores....even cement pores, and stain needs pores to sink in to.
You need to tape off everything but the floors. This is acid. It is mild, but but is still acid.
You'll need a protective equipment...gloves, a paper mask, eye protection. The acid is very uncomfortable on the skin for several hours hours if you contact it directly or inhale the spray.
You need a bug sprayer with no metal parts, available at any hardware store. Metal parts coming in contact the acid stain solution could result in an undesirable color change. The customary dilution is half acid stain, half water. Start in one corner, and squirt it onto the cement in a random flicking motion. You should be careful not to be methodical about this technique... even, controlled rows of spray will reveal an undesirable man-made pattern. The end result is supposed to be a NATURAL STONE LOOK. Variation and randomness of color depth is the key to a natural result. You want the floor to be very moist with solution, but not to the point of puddling. Volume = depth of color, and puddles mean very dark color results in the puddling area.
Let the first coat dry completely. It will look nasty. Don't worry. After drying, apply 2nd coat using the same technique as the first. Let dry completely again.
Scrub and rinse floor with water and a stiff bristle brish on a pole. This is the hardest part. Scrub until the rinse water is CLEAR. If you don't srub and rinse well enough, the result will be poor and cloud after sealing. Don't concern yourself with removing too much acid stain. This is the #1 cause of a botched job. SCRUB AND RINSE UNTIL THE RINSE WATER IS CLEAR. Use a Shop-Vac to suck water from an interior slab. Friends and relatives come in handy at this juncture if your project is large.
After drying, apply the topcoat of your choice from your local hardware store using a mohair or sheepskin applicator. The most durable product is the super-shiny Benjamin Moore Moisture Cure Urethane as pictured. It looks wet for years, and is an industrial grade product. Some sealers have no shine at all. Consult your local Kemiko dealer for your options on sealer.
Let this first coat dry, and according to the directions, and re-coat within the suggested recoat time found on the can of product you choose. DO NOT EXCEED THE RECOMMENDED RE-COAT WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY.
The whole project can be complete in three days. Most of the time is spent just waiting for drying between coats. Some people talk about wax, and that is a great, deep, highly dimensional look. However, it will become a high-maintenance floor, as you must keep it waxed. We think the stain looks great with a protective sealer, as pictured, and feel the whole point of choosing acid-stain the result of an inexpensive and easy to live with floor that looks fantastic. Waxing it defeats one of it's finest attributes.
Acid -stained concrete floors are virtually maintenance free, extremely durable, permanent, and best of all for the stager and seller, it is an obvious upgrade! It absolutely blows the roof off as far as ROI (because it cost so little to begin with!), and it is not a flooring commitment that prohibits other floor choices in the future.
It's the perfect 50 Cent or Less Floor Option!
~Michelle
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