Colorful Concrete with Fabric Dye and Sealer
© Stephie McCarthy
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Here's cleaned-up view of our first concrete color glaze project, BEFORE …
… but it really started much worse. We moved the grass to the yard, gave the surface a good cleaning, and are still amazed at how we have come.
Here it is with a terra cotta 'glaze' using sealer tinted with fabric dye!
We tinted the patio in late August. Above is a photo in late November after a lot of rain and sun.
The tinted sealer goes on rich and dark and then mellows as it dries.
We used lots of warm colors and a stiff-bristled brush on these pavers so that we could work the dye into all the crevices.
Dye alone would soon vanish, but the sealer mixture helps lock the color in against the weather.
We kind'a love the results.
Think of the color possibilities when you use fabric dye! You can use it to adjust the color of commercial concrete dye too. Divide commercial dye into smaller batches and measure your fabric dye for consistent results.
The key is doing lots of preliminary tests. Remember that when dye dries, it will be much lighter. Think of the first coat like a primer that will help stabilize additional layers as they are added.
The medium for the dye is concrete sealer. We mixed two — 50% all purpose, and 50% wet-look — in order to get a custom semi-gloss.
To make sealer into a color glaze with dye, add 1 part dye to 2 parts sealer.
Or, go for a 50/50 mix which will be much richer and colorful.
Check out how we used our sealer and dye to update our green marble painted porch.
Semi-gloss (satin finish) proved to be hard to find in our region, but by mixing it ourselves it was easy to get the perfect glow.
We used a soft brush to seal this smooth green-painted concrete.
The colors had become a bit chippy near the steps.
It was easily fixed. We added emerald-green dye to sealer …
… and dabbed this with a soft brush over the chipped sections.
The green dye sealer did a great job covering the wear marks, as you can see above.
Because tinted sealer will go over paint very well, you can use masonry paint to help disguise stains. Afterward, you can cover it with either plain or tinted sealer.
Back to the red patio …
… red sweeping sand also proved to be hard to source!
Ours had been hidden in the basement for 30 years ago by the builder. We saved it and had a lot of fun using it for this project.
Well, hello, Mr. Colorful! Just in time to help move flower pots.
Color! That's what we love.
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Check out our tutorial on how we created our green-marble floors:
Indoor Green Marble Floors
Covered Porch Painted Marble Floors
newest garden decor
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