Quikrete Concrete Stain

There's no question that Quikrete is the most popular brand among garage floor coatings. This may be due to their good reputation, or the catchy name, but I don't think anyone even comes close. If you consider this, then it makes a lot of sense for Quikrete Concrete Stain to be seen by many as the best possible garage floor stain available.

Believe it or not, there's any specific product called "Quikrete Concrete Stain". For those that aren't in the know, this can lead to some confusion as, when searching for Quikrete Concrete Stain, the results you get will be either Quikrete Semi-Transparent Concrete Stain, or another staining product, Quikrete Etching Stain. You need to be careful when you decide, too, as the two products are going to give you very different results. Let's take a look at the Quikrete Etching Stain. In time, I'm sure I'll get to the Semi-Transparent Concrete Stain, but not now. Oh, don't get so upset, I'll do it eventually. And don't forget to eat your vegetables.

Quikrete is pretty specific in their recommendation to use only etching stain when it comes to your garage, and there is sound reasoning behind that. To etch concrete, the surface of your concrete garage floor is actually kind of melted using acid, and then lines are scraped in to give texture while, using this product, a stain of your choice of color is also added. Not only will the garage flooring end up with a nice, old world, classic look, but it will also provide more traction.

As far as home improvement projects go, concrete etching is easy. In fact, Quikrete etching stain is actually a one-coat job. However, you do still have to apply a sealant, so you can forget about it being a truly one coat job. Even though, the application on the whole is a lot simpler than any epoxy garage floor paint, and you will have some protection after the sealant is on there, which is something that you can't claim with stain alone. Don't forget you also need to clean your garage floors, especially if you have any grease or oil stains, and you may want to use some sort of stain remover. Not really one coat, is it?

Well, usually, but not in this particular case. Quikrete Etching Stain can run over $300, even before sealant and cleaner, probably due to the acids that are used during the etching. That's not cheap for concrete stain, which usually is less expensive than most garage floor tiles. However, garage floor tile will not result in a marble look. Worth the additional money? Well, that totally depends on your perspective. If the main purpose is to protect your concrete, then probably not, even though the seal in the end will give a bit of protection. If the point of all this is to give your garage an interesting look from other, more common garage floor finishes, then you may have found your coating.