The stain will not take at all if you use acid as a cleaner.
Cleaning concrete for acid staining.
Clean the surface to be stained with a concrete cleaner labeled for use on the specific type of dirt or blemish you wish to remove.
I applied a special etching solution.
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.
Because acid stains need to penetrate into the concrete surface to work it s especially important that the concrete surface is completely clean.
Do remove any materials that may inhibit concrete stain penetration such as grease oil coatings or curing membranes.
Our concrete stain prep and our wax remover are both excellent concrete degreasers.
Go over the area thoroughly with a wet mop and plenty of fresh clean water.
How to acid stain a concrete floor step 1.
For final cleaning you should do a good scrub down using t s p.
Floor prep is hard work it s messy and it takes some time but it s worth the effort to be sure your decorative concrete installation lasts.
Mop or rinse a couple of times with clean water.
A solution of tsp trisodium phosphate and a lot of elbow grease with a scrub brush would be your best bet.
When acid staining concrete it s extremely important to clean the concrete very well before.
The second step in the process is also very important.
Allow the surface to dry completely before proceeding with acid staining.
Using a scrub brush with a long handle makes cleaning much easier.
This video discusses prep for an acid stain.
We use our diamond pads tornado satellite and super blue to clean and profile the floor.
Another option would be to use a pressure washer to clean the concrete slab.
Trisodium phosphate and water.
To achieve the best results with an acid stain be sure to adhere to these dos and don ts when preparing your concrete canvas.