How to Make Stained Concrete Floors Look Like Tile

Ensure that the concrete floor is completely clean. For badly stained concrete floors, apply a heavy duty concrete degreaser and stripper with a paint roller to help remove contaminants that may interfere with the decorating of the concrete. Allow the degreaser to remain on the floor for two to three minutes, but do not allow it to dry. Scrub the floor with a stiff brush to loosen and remove embedded particles and rinse the floor thoroughly until there are no remaining signs of the degreaser on the concrete. Allow the concrete to dry for at least six hours before continuing.

Stir the concrete and masonry bonding primer gently with a paint stick, being careful not to introduce air bubbles to the material. Apply a coat of the primer to the cleaned concrete floor using a paint roller, thoroughly covering the surface, but not allowing the primer to puddle up. Allow the primer to dry for eight hours before painting the tile design on the concrete.

Select two to four glaze colors for your faux tile, depending on how much depth you want your tiles to have. The base color should be the color that you want the grout, or the spaces between the tiles, to be. You need at least one more color that is a few shades darker than the base color. If you choose to have more depth in your tiles, the remaining colors need to be a few shades lighter or darker than the base color.

Paint the entire concrete floor with the base color that you have chosen with a good quality paint roller, ensuring that there are no bare spots. Allow the base coat to dry for two to four hours.

Design the pattern of your tiles on the concrete floor. Typical patterns include running bond, herringbone, jack on jack, basket weave or random designs. Stick 3/4-inch blue painter's tape on the floor to create the design that you want -- the floor under the painter's tape will form the grout lines between the tiles.

Sponge the darkest color onto the tiles using a sea sponge. Alternate the way you hold the sea sponge by rotating, so it will alter the design left on the floor. Begin at the edges of the tile, where the color should be the deepest and work toward the middle of the tile for the most realistic look. Wad up a piece of cheese cloth and blot over the glaze to soften the effect. Allow the glaze to dry for at least two hours.

Repeat the sponging and cheese cloth techniques with the medium shade of glaze, then allow it to dry for two to three hours. Finish with the lightest color glaze that you chose, repeating the same process and allowing it to dry completely for about six hours. Your colors should be applied in this order: base coat, darkest color, medium color, lightest color.

Remove the painter's tape from the floor to reveal the grout lines. Thin a small amount of the base color glaze in a small dish by adding some water to it. With a small paint brush, paint along the grout lines to give them more depth for a finished look. Allow the glaze to dry for 24 hours before allowing regular traffic in the area.