How do I stain my basement concrete floor?
You need “acid stain” This can usually be bought at your local concrete company. Clean the floor 2 or 3 times with trisodium phosphate. Rinse well. The acid stain we used was mixed with 50% water. My husband sprayed it on with a pump sprayer and I followed behind him and swabbed it with a cotton mop. After it dried a haze formed on it and we washed it several more times with water. We then sealed it with a sealer also bought from the concrete company. We applied 3-4 coats of the sealer in thin layers. We have lived here for nine years and our floors still look great. We usually reapply the sealer yearly or as needed. It dries relatively fast. I will never have any other kind of flooring. Just mop and go. Do not use that concrete stain in the paint can it is not an acid stain and does not penetrate the concrete. Just make sure you get acid stain.
Behr has an entire concrete stain system. I’m currently in the same process with my garage floor. The next step for you is to apply a concrete “etcher”. It can be purchased at Home Depot and probably Lowes. It comes in a 1-gallon jug. Follow the directions, but basically, you simply spread it evenly across the floor, wait 20-30 minutes, then rinse. The label suggests that you use a pressure washer if possible, but I did just fine with a garden hose and a spray nozzle. Once the floor is rinsed and dries, then you will need to apply a concrete primer. It’s also available through Behr. It’s not as thick as paint, and still feels a little sticky after it dries. According to the label, it will harden once the stain is applied, which can be done as soon as 8 hours after the primer has been applied. Finally, you coat the floor with stain. I haven’t done this yet, but will do it this weekend. According to what I’ve read, it takes three days for the stain to set. I got the semitransparent stain
