Helter:
As the dealer in So. Calif. selling RaceDeck, we are selling about 30,000 s/f of "cheesy-looking" floor each month.
Randy:
There are two types of "concrete stains" available today; one is a paint-based type of so-called "stain" that is sold as a covering for concrete. You may have seen theses stains at Home Depot or Lowe's, and they are not actual "stains", but rather they are glorified paints. They are opaque and are not catalyzed like two part epoxy's or urethane's are. They are water based and have virtually no resistence to harsh chemicals of solvents.
True concrete stains are actually combinations of salts and minerals blended in a water base to actually "stain" the concrete and give it a translucent effect, much like a wood stain would do. Chemical concrete stains are not sealers or topical coverings like a coating would be...a chemically stained concrete floor MUST be coated with something such as a typical concrete sealer. Chemical stains are only available in color shades of black, brown and green, and by diluting and blending colors together, you can create various shades of those colors. If you have ever seen a reddish stain on your concrete driveway caused by a radiator leak from a car, that is essentially what a concrete stain is, except a little more refined.
Because concrete stains are translucent and not opaque, they will not hide imperfections in the concrete.....in other words, if you have a big ugly
oil stain or crack in your garage, you will still have a big ugly stain with a crack in your garage after staining. Plus, because concrete stains are water based and rely heavily on a chemical reaction with the concrete to change the color of the concrete, if there is anything in the floor that has caused it to be water-proof (such as
oil, grease, old floor sealer, paint spills, etc.) the stain will not have any effect in that area and will not change color.
Also, because the stained floors must be sealed, the best type of sealer is a solvent based acrylic sealer, not a water based acrylic sealer, although they can be used. Neither of these are very effective against chemicals such as laquer thinner, brake fluid, gasoline, etc. They can be topped with certain epoxy products, but then you run the risk of having the same problems that other epoxy products have when applied to concrete garage floors. Most water based epoxy blends cause the chemical stains to change in color and have an adverse reaction. I have had green floors turn bright blue before!
Chemical stain floors are generally designed for foot traffic areas and very light duty vehicle traffic areas.
If you go to:
www.lmscofield.com you will see some of our chemical stain floors. While they are very decorative and can be stunning, they do require alot of maintenance and upkeep to keep them looking nice, and I would not recommend them in a garage application.