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Vent: Tried to resurface my concrete patio with a $50 acid stain kit
I figured it would be a simple weekend project... just clean the concrete, roll on the stain, and seal it. Followed all the instructions to the letter, even waited 48 hours for drying time. Problem is the acid stain reacted weird with the old sealer I didn't know was there. Now I've got this patchy orange and green mess that looks like a moldy pumpkin patch. My neighbor asked if I was going for a 'rustic abstract' look... pretty sure he was making fun of me. Spent three days with a floor grinder trying to get it off and now my slab is all scratched up. Anyone dealt with concrete stain pulling up like that? I'm thinking about just painting over it with a solid color instead.
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dixon.james2mo ago
Rustic abstract" - yeah your neighbor was absolutely roasting you, I can hear the smirk through the text. I did something similar once with a driveway epoxy kit that said it would "transform your garage floor." Got it all laid down and it looked like someone spilled a giant bottle of pancake syrup mixed with glitter. The worst part was my dog walked through it and left little paw prints all over my lawn. Took me three whole weeks to scrub that stuff off the grass with dish soap and a garden hose. I feel your pain on the floor grinder too, mine just made everything worse and now I have permanent swirl marks that catch the sunlight all wrong. Painting over it is actually not a terrible idea, just make sure you use a concrete primer first or the paint will peel right back up and then you'll really be in a mess.
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troy_price2mo ago
Yeah the neighbor was definitely roasting you, that's a classic "bless your heart" style insult right there. That old sealer is the culprit, once acid stain hits something it can't bite into it just sits on top and does that weird chemical reaction thing. You can try a heavy duty concrete cleaner with a stiff brush to pull up the loose stuff, then use a solid color concrete stain or a high quality epoxy paint with a good primer. Just make sure you get a primer that bonds to concrete or you'll be right back here asking how to fix peeling paint. Skip the floor grinder on anything but bare concrete, that thing just makes scratches that show through everything.
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