add color to concrete
Posted by Harold on September 8, 2006
I am re-doing parts of a stone patio laid in concrete. What can I use to color the concrete to be near the color of the existing weathered mix.
The question of matching existing color in concrete is difficult. If you match the existing color in time the new application will fade and be different. If you use the same color that was used in the original application you would have to wait for the new color to fade to be the same as existing color.
On a small job like a patio I would suggest the use of a concrete stain. With a stain you could apply it to both new and old concrete and have a fairly uniform color.
For large jobs a colorimeter could be used to match existing color but that would take a special order to manufacture. That would mean a commitment for a quantity large enough to justify a special production run. I don’t think a patio would be big enough.
If you wanted to place a topping concrete mix over the entire area and apply a dry shake colored floor hardener you could get uniform color. Or, an integral color could be put in a concrete overlay.
Other than topping I think a concrete stain would be your best bet.
