Do you have to prep floors before you do concrete staining on conrete?

Yes, clean, fill in holes, sand out any unlevel area and read the instructions on staining.

Hello Rw, I'd start with power washing, then fill in any small holes with a cement mix. Check Home Depot's paint department for some help, make the trip. Their are many colors and textures.

This relies on many factors. If it is preexisting concrete for longer than 30 days you will not acheive the premier results of any stain, because the concrete is past the Curing Stages and no longer as porous as it was.

That facet alone onsets that acid wash is the only option unless you want to paint it.

If, atop that, it has already been treated with a Sealant, you need to eat away that sealant with an acid bath, in an Acid much stronger than water.

So again, you are dealing with Acids.

However, in most cases, persons coloring concrete expect concrete to do well what it physically cannot do 30 days afer it was poured, which is:

Become equally porous as the day it was poured and take

kindly to colorants, washes paints, etc.

An explanation follows:

Rarely does colorant assist in Concrete Applications.

This is because: Technically concrete does not 'dry' in the ordinary traditional sense, instead, concrete expands due to heat of all the catalysts, and this expanse, forces water molecules out, as it cures to the least degree of porosity it can maintain. And these Sciences of Catalysts are in print and online, and you can look those up if you are interested.

Those Sciences were among the Tools that A. Carnegie used to develop his Techniques for hardening steel, which made he Wealthy and Renown.

The science behind why the Pyramids in Giza are so Very Smooth is yet baffling to many:

Over 3000 years ago, the Egyptians acheived better lesser

degrees of porosity, than most modern day Engineers,

Chemists and Science can Achieve, to extents, it is said

that: the Great Pyramid of Giza is as smooth as glass.

And baffles many Because

The actual Chemical Makeup of those Catalysts involved

is said to be known only to the Egyptian Military.

And very likely even they are unsure of the Accuracies of

the Chemistries and Processes used.

The smoothness acheived can only acheive by running

water, for years over these pyramids, yet, there is no

evidence of any acqueduct constructed to accomodate

all the water essential to acheive equal smoothness.

[More likely, these were precast and moulded in a Very

High Heat environment, possibly in a very vast Diamond,

Of a like that will never again be seen, [but is somewhere

in a Sea] Hollowed by Diamonds, Smoothed by Diamond

Paper, atwhich to cure it was also Dropped undersea, to

a great depth and hauled up. How this process of placing

fire beneath the sea, actually does in BC Egypt, is not

known.]

So basically, if Egypt cannot Colorize the Pyramids, [keep in mind, it is said that the Sphinx was Once Colored and that became Bleached by the Sun] do not expect that yourself will acheive on lesser grade concrete, what Egypt cannot, and acquire Primo Results from your labors, enough to

A. not degrade the preexisting product: durability, quality or lifespan, and sheen.

B. Hire an attorney to write a polite dignified letter to the Egyptian Embassy all about this new process you found which may conflict their interests in Sececy.

Thus:

Unless you have no windows in an enclosure, Even using.

Acid Wash, will not create a Colorant which endures ever

and ever.

However, any chemistry you do use, is best tried on a

spot in a not too observible area.

Good luck with your project!