How To Color Concrete
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Concrete is the most versatile building material on the planet...but I hope you like the color gray! If you really want to get away from the classic light gray concrete color that permeates pretty much every physical space in our modern world you are going to have to take some drastic steps. Concrete is gray and it absolutely wants to stay that way. I remember decades ago when I first tried mixing latex paints in with my concrete mix to add color and I was shocked at how much vivid color I could add, only to watch it be instantly swallowed by the swirling gray abyss.
If you want to color concrete then you have the option of mixing a coloring agent in with the wet concrete mix (integral concrete colors) or you can explore one of a few different methods for adding a coat of color after the initial (gray) concrete has set up and cured. These methods would include concrete pigment stains, concrete paints, concrete acid stains...but there is an underlying thread that is true for all of these different concrete coloring options and that is the fact that it will be exceedingly hard to get predictable (or consistent) coloration with your concrete no matter what method you choose to try. There are a lot of factors that will affect what the finished color looks like and if you don't like the results there might not be a lot that you can do about that.
Inconsistent concrete color - No matter which way you choose to add color to concrete you need to be aware that there are a lot of different factors that will affect the consistency of the final color. For integral colors which are mixed in throughout the wet concrete any admixtures within the mix can potentially react or slightly alter the final color. The amount of water used from one mix to the next will also be at least marginally different and this too can affect the consistancy of the integral color. Whether you trowel the concrete early, or if you hit it again after is was starting to set up will also change the color even on different parts of the same concrete job! For surface color application the concerns are even greater, most especially for the age of the concrete, the admixtures and chemicals present, the amount of moisture in the concrete, even the amount of humidity in the air the day you apply the color can have a huge impact on the finished color effect.
You can literally follow the exact same technical process as closely as you are able to do so when coloring two different concrete jobs and still end up with concrete colors that do not match. It is very important to understand the difficult nature of adding coloring agents or topical colors to concrete. It can be done, it is a highly technical process, and usually you should be willing to accept some variations and inconsistencies with the final color the concrete turns out. You should also strive to plan ahead for the fact that many factors can alter the color. For example, if I was going to acid wash a concrete deck or patio I would definitely be sure to pour all of that concrete at the same time, on the same day, such that when I go to add color all of the area to be colored is the same age, same level of hydration, same mix design, same amount of cure achieved...the more variables you can work to remove the more likely you will get a predictable concrete coloration with your process. With integrally mixed concrete the concerns are similar in that even minute variations in the mix or amount of coloring agent used can result in fairly stark differences in the final color.
How To Make Red Concrete
When you are looking to add red coloring to your concrete mix most likely the first product that you will find to help you accomplish this will be an iron oxide based liquid pigment which is generally available from most big box hardware stores or online retailers. Each bottle is designed to add some coloration to two 80lb. bags of mixed concrete, or if you want a more vivid coloration then you can add as much as one bottle of pigment for every 60lb. bag of mixed concrete. Ideally you will mix the liquid pigment directly in with the water component for your mix as this will allow for the most even dispersion of color throughout your mix, but in order to do this you would need to know in advance how much water you will use in each batch of concrete. If you make a regular sized batch over and over this might work, but for most other applications it will be hard for you to know in advance exactly how much water you will need in the mix. A big part of that is due to the sand component of the mix since sand can be anywhere from bone dry to basically dripping wet and this obviously will have a large impact on how much additional water you need to add to the mix.
While the results of the red concrete might be a little on the pink side for your liking you can definitely say that we have successfully added red coloration to the finished product. If a more (most) vivid coloration is desired then the addition of a wet look sealer might help to bring out the full spectrum and depth of color in the mix. Be sure to allow the concrete to fully cure before attempting to seal the concrete as the trapped moisture within the curing concrete would most likely cause any sealer applied too early to fail.
How To Make Black Concrete
Similar to the red concrete example given above one of the first products that you will find for coloring concrete from your local hardware store will be a liquid iron oxide pigment. They do not offer these pigments in very many colors due to the nature of iron oxide and also how concrete accepts coloration. If you want more vivid color or a greater spectrum of options than just red, charcoal (black), or brown then you will need to speak with a specialty concrete products wholesaler or potentially explore surface coloring options like acid stains or concrete paints.
The only problem with these color options is that any physical damage to the concrete like a chip will reveal the light (original) gray color of concrete beneath the surface. This can make the colored concrete look pretty awful as it starts to age. For this reason an integral color may be a better option, being that the color will be evenly mixed throughout the concrete so chipped areas still look the same as the rest of it. This is definitely an advantage of an integral mixed color versus any form of topical color application to concrete.
Black concrete (or charcoal concrete) is uniquely challenging to work with as the dark color highlights physical defects and imperfections in the finishing process very readily. Things like overhydration of the concrete or raising too much water during the troweling process are definitely not going to look great if you are working with black concrete. Additionally concrete tends to haze over as it cures from the presence of portland cement cream on the surface so this effect is magnified greatly with the contrast of white haze against the dark black concrete, where normally this is visually minimized as it is a white haze on light gray concrete...you hardly even notice it.
This is why colored pool plasters will usually receive an acid wash the very next day after finishing and this is to burn off the portland cement layer and reveal the full color of the aggregates contained in the mix. This might not exactly be the best thing for brand new concrete (mortar / plaster) to experience but if you paid a lot for vivid colors in your pool plaster you kind of want to be able to see them...like right away and not one to three years down the road when the plaster cream layer naturally wears away.
If you want to add color to your concrete mixes it would be a really strong idea to spend some time experimenting with concrete pieces to see how much control you are able to achieve over the consistency of the finished color. This will also give you the opportunity to hash out any mistakes in your technical process as well as evaluate how you feel about the final colors you are able to achieve. If you end up using integral colors for your concrete but you hate the final results then that is extremely unfortunate as you are relegated to removing and replacing the offending concrete or potentially exploring an overlay which is a new application of extremely thin modified concrete (mortar) such that you can add a different coloration to the new layer and hopefully be more happy with those results.
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