Home Handyman

Mello Yello · Guru

Front Porch Project (attn: Come-On and others)

Come On · Senior Member

Whooo! Virgin concrete! I suggest that ya get me there to do what I do and eat enormous amounts of barbeque.

Sound like a deal? I may hafta stay for the whole winter if I get there, though.

Acid stain can be a real pain. It's nice when it's done, but there are some options. Is there a Sherwin Williams store nearby? You're in Texas right?

Come On · Senior Member

What sorta look do ya want? What are the surroundings? Any of these strike ya?

-- Edited by Come On at 16:52, 2008-10-10

Mello Yello · Guru

First of all I like all of those samples, however, I don't think I want to put out the effort or expense to have that nice of a front porch since we are planning on selling.

Yes we are in Texas and Sherin Williams stores are pretty available to use - - - - so whatcha thinking???

Come On · Senior Member

Sherwin Williams has an excellent solvent based stain that's opaque like paint. You can get any color that you can get paint in. Some patterns, especially a tile, is very simple to do. If you can use a paint roller you can get the look. I'm certain that 1 gallon would give you 2 coats on that porch...it's about $25.00 per gallon here. You can do 1 color or a main color and a border easily, fast and inexpensive. I always put 2 coats of clear sealer over any work I do and it's priced the same. Interested? hmm

Mello Yello · Guru

Come On wrote:

Sherwin Williams has an excellent solvent based stain that's opaque like paint. You can get any color that you can get paint in. Some patterns, especially a tile, is very simple to do. If you can use a paint roller you can get the look. I'm certain that 1 gallon would give you 2 coats on that porch...it's about $25.00 per gallon here. You can do 1 color or a main color and a border easily, fast and inexpensive. I always put 2 coats of clear sealer over any work I do and it's priced the same. Interested?

Yes, very interested - - - just one plain color will do just fine - - - what's the "PROPER NAME" for that opaque stain and sealer??

Come On · Senior Member

Alright buddy! These products are under the H&C label sold by Sherwin Williams. The opaque stain is H&C Concrete Sealer Solid Color...red label-solvent based. Now I always put 2 coats of clear sealer over 2 coats of that stuff. It's possible that in your part of the planet that the clear isn't necessary. Ask the folks at the store. If you're gonna go with clear sealer it's also H&C label and solvent based. If you're concerned with traction, grab a small bottle of H&C's Shark Grip. It goes into your sealer, stays suspended and rolls out nice and even. It works great and ya won't slip with that stuff in there.

For application you just roll it out like paint. The proper nap roller is on the label, I think it's 3/8". You may want to acid etch the surface if it's fairly smooth. The ideal surface feels like 120 grit sandpaper. If you want to etch you can probably get a premixed solution at S.W. instead of buying a big jug of acid that you'll only need a small bit of. Neutralize the acid solution after 10 minutes or so of reaction time with ammonia and water (6:1- water:ammonia).

If you're gonna do a tile thing, just use a narrow painter's tape and stick it on the surface where the grout would be and roll right over it. If you're gonna do a border just tape it off like ya would if you're painting. I guess you probably already knew that part anyway.

Let me know if I missed anything and good luck buddy!

Mello Yello · Guru

Come On wrote:

Alright buddy! These products are under the H&C label sold by Sherwin Williams. The opaque stain is H&C Concrete Sealer Solid Color...red label-solvent based. Now I always put 2 coats of clear sealer over 2 coats of that stuff. It's possible that in your part of the planet that the clear isn't necessary. Ask the folks at the store. If you're gonna go with clear sealer it's also H&C label and solvent based. If you're concerned with traction, grab a small bottle of H&C's Shark Grip. It goes into your sealer, stays suspended and rolls out nice and even. It works great and ya won't slip with that stuff in there.

For application you just roll it out like paint. The proper nap roller is on the label, I think it's 3/8". You may want to acid etch the surface if it's fairly smooth. The ideal surface feels like 120 grit sandpaper. If you want to etch you can probably get a premixed solution at S.W. instead of buying a big jug of acid that you'll only need a small bit of. Neutralize the acid solution after 10 minutes or so of reaction time with ammonia and water (6:1- water:ammonia).

If you're gonna do a tile thing, just use a narrow painter's tape and stick it on the surface where the grout would be and roll right over it. If you're gonna do a border just tape it off like ya would if you're painting. I guess you probably already knew that part anyway.

Let me know if I missed anything and good luck buddy!

Looks like you've covered all my questions - - - I'm painting the garage right now so it will be at least a week or two before I take on this project but THANKS AS ALWAYS - - - I feel confident about tackling this now.

Have a great weekend,
Mello