1 Gal. Sandstone Semi-Transparent Water-Based Exterior Concrete Stain

I love the look so far, waiting for my second order. I majorly underestimated how much I would need. The 300 sq. ft. coverage is NOT realistic. My concrete pool deck sucked this up big time, plus a second coat is needed as shown in the closeup of the steps.

Stain arrived well packaged and protected, intact. Opened easily and stirred easily. Covered well. Ease to apply. Absorbed and dried quickly. Price was reasonable and product was shipped quickly. I am satisfied with the stain.

The title to this product is a little deceiving for color. It is more orange than Sandstone which I thought would be lighter and it is not. I wanted it to match or come close to the light color of my brick not the red part (pictures). I used a sprayer to apply and then a roller to cover all areas. It went on smoothly but did take a lot of spray to cover the small area that I did complete. It is not my color because it has too much orange in the color. It would be nice to have seen a color patch and not rely so much on the name for color. It's a good product but this color did not match for me.

Recently had our driveway widened and blacktopped but a small area by the garage door was still an eye sore so we wanted to color the cement which was old and dull. And the walkway leading to the backyard. And cement 18X18 inch garden squares that have weathered in the backyard we wanted to spruce up. The weather has not cooperated of late as we have been having more than normal rain but a few breaks the past week in the rain we were able to use this product and are quite happy with the results. Spread and penetrated easily with a regular paint brush. It also dries quickly. And the paint brush afterwards can be easily cleaned for reuse with soap and warm water. This color worked for us great and when or if needed additional paint I am confident that it will be available from Home Depot to color match it again and again. Great paint. I recommend this product and would use myself again and again.

Not impressed. The Colour Crete Semi Transparent stain is thinner and more transparent than other concrete semi-transparent stains I've used, and even two coats doesn't provide enough color to blend out the normal differences in concrete. It has the consistency of skim milk but certainly goes on and cleans up easily. I tried it on two sections of concrete. One section (vertical) had never been stained, The other (horizontal) had been stained with a different (cheaper) semi-transparent stain several years ago but the color had chipped/flaked away. The previously unstained section showed little difference with the second coat, and while it provided reasonable color shading the irregularities in the concrete still show through – more like I'd expect with a transparent (vs semi-transparent) stain. I didn't expect great results on the horizontal section, since this stain is specifically designed for unstained concrete and some original stain was still in place. Still the Colour Crete did soak into both the flaked and stained areas a little bit, not enough to give the color depth I hoped for in either section. Note that I did NOT expect a color match since this is a different shade of brown than I originally used, but I expected more depth of color. Given the original stain provides more depth and is still cheaper, I'll go back to that stain.

My first impressions of this Colour Crete concrete stain product were not good, but don’t be fooled by first impressions. When I opened up the gallon of concrete stain and started to stir it up, it appeared very watery and thin. I couldn’t imagine that this was going to turn out very well. I figured that I better test this on a small sample before applying it to any large area. I took a concrete cinder block that is used for walls and stained 1/2 of the surface (See Photo). I used a stiff brush to apply the stain so I could be sure it got into all little nooks and crannies. It didn’t appear to go on very uniformly and I was getting worried. I let it sit for several minutes and then brushed the surface again without adding any more stain. It looked a little better. After allowing it to sit for a few minutes more I went over it again with just the brush. I then let it dry and when I came back it looked great (See Photo)! Stir the can often when applying to keep the color uniform. This Colour Crete concrete stain is best used on a porous masonry surface. If the surface has been sealed with a concrete sealer, or if it is stained or dirty, you will need to use an acid etch on the concrete prior to applying this stain. The surface needs to be clean and dry. The concrete has to be able to absorb water for this stain to work well. Color Crete penetrates the surface of the concrete. It is also important to seal the stained concrete with a concrete sealer to preserve the new color. Colour Crete comes in 5 different colors, Sandstone, Grey, Terra Cotta, Sage, and Adobe. These colors can be mixed together to produce many different colors. The stain is water based and can be cleaned up with soap and water.

Works fine, but it's probably best to do it in fall. I tried to apply this to a concrete pad, and really soaked up into the concrete, and I probably need to do several more coats as a result. You definitely do need to etch the surface before hand. While the color's not what I had anticipated, it did work, and the color is a little different, but not nearly as dark as I was hoping. It's much lighter than the thumbnail. I would recommend this product, but I would try to do it in cooler months, and be prepared to do multiple layers. It is much better than a plain concrete pad though!

Keep in mind this is not a paint that just covers the concrete. This is water thin with tint in it. I put it on one virgin pad and then over an existing painted concrete surface. The color on the virgin pad dried back to a very rustic copper color. Very cool. And it did coat the previous painted surface showing the flaws beneath but yet adding a new dimension to it. With multiple coats you can vary the depth of the color. Very nice application product. Water clean up. I applied with a brush but can be applied with a very short nap roller.

Keep in mind this is not a paint that just covers the concrete. This is water thin with tint in it. I put it on one virgin pad and then over an existing painted concrete surface. The color on the virgin pad dried back to a very rustic copper color. Very cool. And it did coat the previous painted surface showing the flaws beneath but yet adding a new dimension to it. With multiple coats you can vary the depth of the color. Very nice application product. Water clean up. I applied with a brush but can be applied with a very short nap roller.

I had a couple places where I wanted to try this product on my property - an old concrete slab from the 1950s and some plain concrete stones I had placed in front of my shed. Very easy to apply with a brush of any kind. Follow instructions and keep stirring throughout. The stones in front of the shed covered very nicely. I may wait the allotted time and apply another coat after my wife looks it over. The 1950s slab covered but it think due its age it would be tough to coat. I’ll give it a few days drying time. If it was bigger I’d apply the other products recommended, but it was just a test. The stones worked great and dried fast. Clean up very easy as well.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Did what was expected.

Didn't get exactly what I'd hoped for based on the graphic represented in the ad and on the can. Less variegation in color, but I'm okay with it. One of the gallons out of three ordered was obviously opened before and the stain dripped all over the can, but I had no choice but to use in order to get the job done.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Liked the color. Easy to apply and dried up quickly.

Poor penetration more like paint than stain. Already spots peeling up.

Loved the product, however I had to order an additional gallon. Same shade but the packaging was different and they did not match. Had to redo. Disappointing

It just renewed my concrete completely. Although, I was expecting a shinier look, but I guess there's another shinier sealing you can buy on the side and apply to your already painted concrete. Love the results anyway!

weak color...looks like semitransparent... would have taken 3 or more coats to get any real change in color of underlying gray pavers. went to paint store and got solid color stain and covered easily.

The stain is very thin so one coat coverage uneven. Some chipping of the stain a few weeks.

It started coming off with 1st rinse. I power washed etched and rolled on stain. Not bad but not great either. Also didnt really soak into concrete. Chairs will scrape it off. Probably going to redo it eventually with a primer and diff stain.

Did a great job. Reasonable price too!

Stain looked great. One coat and it gave me the looked I wanted. A little goes a long way.

Outdoor stain for pavers that isn't water proof. started washing of after the first time it got wet.

Great color easy to apply

Easy to use with good results. The color looks great around our pool!

Good coverage when applied in cool weather. Concret sucks up product in hot weather. Have to order more.