Third Time’s A Charm (For Concrete Stain)

Well, I finally got out of my things-aren’t-working-out-the-way-I-planned funk about the concrete counters, which, if you remember had was preceded by a slight issue with stain.

It wasn’t pretty…

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Before taking a sledge hammer too it, I decided to give one more stain option a try. This time I went to Lowe’s and had Quickcrete stain tinted to “Gunpowder”. (Note to self: Do that first next time.)

And instead of a foam brush, MysteryMan used this…

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Which, was a good idea as far as concrete results. Bad for not getting stain all over the place, including probably in our lungs.

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Turned out pretty good, considering what it looked like before:

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Uh. It looks like the wall is going to need a little repainting.

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Other than that, finishing off the concrete meant a couple coats of a sealer. I was scared to use the foam brush again given the disastrous results the first time, so I tried using a roller. Turns out this time the foam brush worked better. Go figure.

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Here’s the tub surround…

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And the color looks great with tile. I’ll be using this for the backsplash as well as the fireplace and shower.

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And that, folks, is a happy concrete ending.

8 Responses

  1. I think the concrete was just screwing with you the whole time to insure it dressed up and looked right for the tile. It looks just perfect with the tile now. So, SEE it got its wish!

  2. Just a question, how smooth is the concrete? With the sealer on it, is it smooth enough to wipe down with little trouble. I have been thinking about trying a concrete counter in the kitchen area, but wasn’t sure how well it would work out.

    It does look really good and the tile is great with it. 🙂

  3. Wow! That ended up turning out fantastically! It looks so good with that tile. I am continually wowed by your awesomeness.

  4. That looks great, Kit! All coming together…funks are good…let’s us ignore problem till solution arises…now you’re a genius! Looking forward to seeing the finished room!

  5. I like how this turned out, but I was just wondering if this was the look you were going for? I have seen it done on some DIY show where they were able to stain concrete to look just like granite, but it took (I think) 3 different coats and a layer of thick sealant. Compared to granite, which I think is more traditional, I like the more modern look you and Mystery Man created, but I was just wondering if that is what you wanted it to be. Keep it up, girl! 🙂

    1. That’s a good question. I was going for a more industrial look so I knew I wanted it to look like concrete instead of marble. This is darker than I originally pictured, but it still turned out pretty well!

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