How to Acid Stain Interior Cement Floors

Staining cement floors is easy, inexpensive, and will give your room a whole new look. Stains normally are more earth-colored or dark than bright and pastel. A new floor with little wear will provide a consistent color but almost all cement floors can take a good stain. The coloring may not come out quite the way it was planned so you should test it first on an out-of-the-way section of the floor.

Eye and skin protection
OSHA-approved breathing mask
Acid-based chemicals for staining
Water
Mop and cleaning supplies
Dust mop
Sealing compound

Instructions

- 1
  Choose the color that you are aiming for and mix the acidic chemicals with water. For example, a copper color comes from a cup of iron sulphate and 2 2/3 cups of water.
- 2
  Clean the cement by scrubbing and rinsing it. Sweep it throughly and then dust again to remove any left behind debris or dust.
- 3
  Dampen the floor with a light mopping.
- 4
  Wrap a cotton t-shirt around a mop with no seams showing. Use this to spread the stain on the floor. You can also use a sponge mop. Do not leave footprints in the stain. Be careful where you step because it takes a while for the stains to appear.
- 5
  Dust mop the floor when it dries and repeat the previous mopping but in a different pattern of movement. One gallon covers a 20-by-20-feet room with two coats.
- 6
  Continue to dry, dust and apply the stain until it reaches the desired level of intensity. It must dry completely to show the current stain tone.
- 7
  Dry for several days and apply a commercial sealer.

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