Colorful Transformations

For decorative contractors who use concrete as a canvas for color, the combination of chemical stains and concrete dyes is a perfect synergy.

Although stains have received much applause for their amazing color transformations, dyes deserve equal kudos. These underrated coloring agents can achieve vibrant tones simply not possible with stains alone.

“Dyes can get the applicator into more vibrant colors such as yellow, blue, and purple to name a few,” says Bob Harris, president of The Decorative Concrete Institute and author of Bob Harris’ Guide to Stained Concrete Interior Floors.

“The nice thing about working with dyes is that you can mix them at the jobsite to obtain your desired color,” he says. “Dyes are often used in conjunction with acid stains to produce a variegated look and, in most cases, complement the already stained floor.”

Gary Jones of Colormaker Floors Ltd. agrees about the versatility of dyes. His company offers a proprietary line of water- and solvent-based dyes in a vast array of colors, including subtle earth tones, vibrant hues, and pastels.

“We use a lot of dyes, which for us go hand in hand with the patina stains,” he says. “The dyes back up the stain and give you a wider range and vibrancy of color. They also allow you to do more layering of color.”

Another proponent of dyes is artist Dana Boyer, owner of ConcretiZen. She makes her own dyes to enhance and customize her stained concrete work. Applying a dye is “like putting blush on your cheeks, over a foundation. It bumps up the color a notch,” she says. Boyer notes that acid stains generally come in only about eight or so neutral colors. With dyes, almost any color is achievable. “It’s an enhancement for the stain,” she says. “You start with a base of color and build up from there.”

How dyes work

Essentially, concrete dyes are translucent, penetrating color solutions. Unlike acid-based stains, they do not react chemically with concrete. Instead, they contain very fine coloring agents that penetrate into the concrete surface.

Both water- and solvent-based dyes are available, with each type having unique qualities. Water-based dyes, such as Colormaker’s Someru, generally produce soft pastel tones. Bolder hues, including red, blue, yellow, green, purple and orange, are possible with solvent-based products. DecoTone from Decosup and SuperStone Concrete Dye are examples.

Most dyes are packaged in concentrated form, allowing flexibility in the end color. They can be used full strength to attain greater depth of color or diluted with water or solvents to produce paler shades or simply a light wash of color. You can also intermix different colors of dye to produce your own custom hues.

Concrete dyes can further enhance your chemical staining projects and open up a whole new set of design options. Harris says that the primary reason for using dyes is flexibility — to obtain colors not possible with chemical stains.

“When concrete dyes are combined with chemical staining, there are no limitations from a predetermined color palette,” he explains.

But dyes have a multitude of other applications as companions on chemical staining projects. Artisans have used them to:

Application techniques

Dyes can be applied in a variety of ways, depending on the results you want to achieve and the size of the job. Harris typically uses a high-volume, low-pressure (HVLP) sprayer on his projects.

Boyer’s techniques vary. “Every job is different. I may spray it, roll it, or brush it. There are many different ways to apply dyes,” she says.