Hate The Color Of Your Garden's Concrete Path? 4 Ways You Can Dye It

Concrete is a good choice to use for a long pathway that leads to your flower garden, as it is durable and will last you a long time. Once you start laying it, however, you may find that you aren't keen on the color of the concrete. Fortunately, you can change the color to something that is much more aesthetic. Below are four ways you can dye your pathway.

Acid Stains

Acid stains are a common way to change the color of concrete after it has dried.  Acid stain is made of acid, water, and metallic salts and is mixed in with concrete. You can purchase bags of concrete at a home supply store for this purpose.

Follow the directions on the stain you purchase on how to mix it up and apply it. When you finish mixing everything, there is a chemical reaction that develops the color. When applied to the concrete, the chemical reaction results in its own unique color.

When you finish applying the stain, you can use a tool that looks much like a pencil to swirl through the acid stain before it dries to create different effects.

Water-Based Dye

Water-based dye and stain offers many advantages as it is easy to apply, dries quickly, and is odorless. There are many colors available, and you can mix colors together to create something unique. When this dye finishes drying, it will look translucent. It is important to put a sealant on the dye when it dries, however, or the color can fade over time. A contractor, like Pave-Core Paving Inc, can tell you how often you should seal it.

Pigment Dye

Another option you have is pigment dye. This is a powder that the contractor adds to the concrete when it is being mixed. There are many colors available, such as light tan, red, brown, black, and blue. The contractor should have swatches to show you the colors they have available. If you want the walkway to be more unique, ask the concrete contractor if they can mix different colors together for you before adding it to the mix.

Shake-on Dye

Concrete shake-on color is made from dry cement and fine pigments. The powder is added during the bull floating process, or the leveling out of ridges and voids with aggregate. The color is only on the top layer of concrete, so it can come off with any polishing or grinding.

Besides changing the color to your concrete pathway, there are many ways you can make it more appealing, such as stamping different designs on the concrete. This is done before it dries so talk with your contractor if you are interested in doing something like this.