Mile High Coatings Podcast

Acid Staining vs. Solid Stains: Finding the Perfect Finish for Your Outdoor Spaces

• David Nanninga • Episode 5

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Is Concrete Staining A Good Option For Patios And Outdoor Spaces?

Curious about transforming your tired concrete patio into a stunning focal point for your outdoor space? Our latest episode dives deep into the world of concrete staining, revealing why this underappreciated technique might be the perfect solution for homeowners seeking both beauty and durability.

David Nanninga, president of Mile High Coatings, walks us through three distinct concrete staining methods—each with unique benefits and applications. The star of the show is acid staining, which creates a permanent chemical reaction with your concrete, resulting in rich, variegated colors that mimic natural stone. David shares his personal experience with an acid-stained patio that still looks impressive after nine years without sealing, though he explains why sealing is typically recommended.

For spaces with existing concrete damage, the dye and seal method offers redemption through diamond grinding and specialized application techniques. Meanwhile, solid stains provide a simpler, paint-like option for those preferring uniform coverage. The episode also tackles important practical concerns, including sealer options (penetrating vs. film-forming), safety considerations, and ideal applications for each technique. David's expertise shines through as he explains how these different approaches affect appearance, texture, and slip resistance—crucial factors for Colorado's variable climate.

Whether you're renovating a weathered patio, updating a basement floor, or building a new outdoor living space, this episode equips you with expert insights to make informed decisions about concrete finishing. Ready to elevate your space with a beautiful, lasting concrete treatment? Visit Milehighcoatings.com for a free quote and discover how professional concrete staining can transform your property with minimal maintenance and maximum impact.

To learn more about Mile High Coatings visit:
https://www.MileHighCoatings.com
Mile High Coatings
970-314-1023

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Mile High Coatings podcast, where we elevate your spaces to a new peak in quality. Hosted by David Nanega, president of Mile High Coatings, this podcast explores how expert residential painting, concrete coatings and epoxy flooring can transform garages, basements, patios and commercial spaces across Colorado's front range. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back and dive into the world of high-quality coatings.

Speaker 2:

Thinking about transforming your patio or outdoor space with a sleek, natural look? Concrete staining might be your answer. Let's explore what homeowners should know before choosing this. Finish. Welcome back everyone. I'm Millie M, co-host and producer. Back in the studio with David Nanaga, president of Mile High Coatings. How's it going, david?

Speaker 3:

Oh, pretty good, Millie, how are you doing?

Speaker 2:

Doing quite well. I am thrilled to chat about concrete staining. It's one of those upgrades people often overlook but can make a huge visual impact. Is concrete staining a good option for patios or outdoor spaces?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it absolutely can be a great option. There's actually a few different applications of staining that we can do. So there's acid staining, which I would say maybe has maybe lost a little bit of popularity only because there's some other options available, maybe user-friendly or DIY-friendly types of options, and I would say but acid staining is still probably, in my opinion, the best option out of the couple that I'll discuss. So the other option is a solid stain, which really amounts to you know, if you can imagine paint. You know, just imagine putting a coat of paint on a patio. It's called concrete stain or solid stain, meaning it's a solid, consistent color with coverage. And then another option that we've done over the years is called a dye and seal. So a dye and seal is very popular in basements and interior spaces for commercial use and all that, but we can do it on patios. It's also popular for enclosed, say, four season types of rooms.

Speaker 3:

So I'll start back and talk about an acid stain. So an acid stain is a chemical reaction with the concrete. So what happens when an acid stain is applied to the concrete? There's metallic salts that are carried by, but there's a couple of different acids. There's hydrochloric acid, muriatic acid, there's one or two other, maybe phosphoric acid, and that may be incorrect, but these acids they dissolve these salts and they carry it into the concrete and then it facilitates a chemical reaction and actually permanently colors the concrete, and so the nice thing about that is that it's permanent color. It can't really be worn off, and so usually acid stains, you typically want to seal them. However, I have a patio that I acid stained eight or nine years ago and I never sealed it. I was going to and, and then I kind of I was like, eh, we'll see, we'll give it to winter. And then, you know, a year went by, two years went by, and here it is eight, nine years later.

Speaker 3:

And this still looks pretty good. It's a little worn from from washing it. You know it's. It's the color't necessarily need to seal it. It's generally recommended to seal it though. Um, and I'll get, and I'll talk about the different sealers here in a second. But another advantage to an acid stain is you know, you can do really any number of colors. You can do one color. You can do do two, three, four colors, Like a tie-dye patio.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it kind of gives it some natural. I think the idea for most people is that it kind of gives it like a stone-faux sort of natural model type of look. And so, yeah, yeah, there's a you know a handful probably eight to maybe 12 different colors that are that are pretty popular. That's beautiful.

Speaker 3:

Yeah and so, yeah. So the other thing about an acid stain is that it allows you to retain the texture of your existing concrete. Meaning we stain isn't the right solution in that case. And then we would jump to a dye and seal, where we would actually diamond grind the concrete. We would apply a dye in the same fashion that we apply an acid stain. Now, a dye isn't going to chemically react with the concrete, it's more of a kind of soaks in and stains. It stains the concrete, and so that does have to have a sealer for sure, and the downside of that is that it can be slippery when it gets wet. So that's a popular application for, like, like a four season room that that's not going to see snow or maybe a large amount of rain. And then the solid stain I feel like is probably pretty self-explanatory. Um, it's, it's kind of like like a paint, you know. So, you, I feel like it's probably pretty self-explanatory. It's kind of like a paint, you know. It's one color, you know gray or brown or tan or whatever.

Speaker 2:

And you said you were going to talk about the sealers. Take us through that really quick, yeah.

Speaker 3:

So with a dye and seal, we use either a urethane sealer or we use a polyaspartic sealer.

Speaker 3:

So depending on sheen and sort of, there's a few different factors on why we would use one or the other, but both are very durable and fine options and those would be more of a case-by-case, you know application that we would, you know, kind of talk to with the customer. So with an acid stain, you don't have to seal it, as I mentioned earlier. But if you do want to seal it, I personally would recommend a penetrating sealer. And what's going to happen there is it gets sprayed on, it soaks down into the concrete, it dries and it doesn't really look like we did much, if anything, from a ceiling standpoint. But it's going to exhibit some ceiling properties. It's going to beat up water and not allow water penetration water penetration. Another example of a sealer would be like a foam forming sealer that we would use and that's going to sit more on top of the concrete as opposed to penetrating and sinking down into the concrete. So those are like acrylics and urethanes that can be applied to protect the acid stain.

Speaker 3:

Those are going to exhibit some more sheen typically and be a little bit more protective overall and also it's gonna enhance and darken the acid stain, so it's gonna make that the colors pop a little bit more so so earlier I you know I skip science class when I was a kid so you earlier you talked about all these chemical reactions and acid and I just want to make sure of the safety of it once it's made and it's sealed.

Speaker 2:

Obviously you wouldn't be installing it if it wasn't safe, but I just want to reiterate that for those people who might have a question yeah, great, great question.

Speaker 3:

So probably the main or a really common concern or question that homeowners ask is oh, is it going to kill my flowers or my grass? So after the stain is applied it does its chemical reaction. It usually takes anywhere from one to three hours for the reaction to happen and then we go through and we neutralize the stain. So there's a few different things we use to neutralize it. We rinse it off, power wash it and everything, and so at that point the acid is neutralized, it's clean, it's rinsed off, poses no harm to really anything at that point. And then, once it's dry, we can again. We can leave it alone and not do anything. Or, once it's dry, we can put whatever type of sealer we want to put on Perfect, great question, anything. Or, you know, once it's dry we can put a you know, whatever type of sealer we want to put on.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, great question. Yep, there's no. There's no future harm or damage. That can be done once it's you know once it's cleaned up.

Speaker 2:

Great to know. Really enjoyed the breakdown. David staining sounds like a smart move for style and durability. Thanks again for sharing your expertise. We'll see you next time.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings podcast. Ready to give your space a fresh, durable finish? Visit milehighcoatingscom for a free price quote or call 970-314-1023. At Mile High Coatings, we're not just painting walls, we're setting a new peak in quality. Until next time, keep your standards high and your coatings higher.