Concrete Dyes

by Dora Fink
(North East, PA)

Q. I am planning on using a concrete dye for my countertops. I want to polish them to a glossy finish. Do I polish first & then dye or do I dye & then polish? Is there a limit to the grit I can use on the concrete before I dye it? I acid stained the countertop & then polished up to 400 grit & the stain was removed. Thanks for your help.

A. We polish our countertops up to a 400 grit before we apply any acid stain. From 50 grit up to 400 grit you are still removing material from the surface of the concrete to get it to the final look, exposed aggregate or salt & pepper, you want.

After you have grouted the pin holes and acid stained the concrete, you can start to polish the surface from 400 grit up to 3000 grit. These higher grit polishing pads don't really remove any more of the surface. They hone and polish the surface, removing the fine scratches from the previous grit pad.

When you finish with the 3000 grit pad, you will have a beautiful, acid stained, polished countertop with a mirror like finish.