
To create dramatic swirls of color, you can go over select areas of the floor with pool trowels attached to long wooden handles. They also are highly versatile, allowing you to achieve an endless array of decorative effects. Metallic epoxy floor coatings are like liquid marble for concrete because of their pearlescent qualities and reflective pigments. Learn more about painting concrete floors.Ī metallic epoxy custom blended from two different silver pigments gives this restaurant floor a seamless, marble-like finish. These paints are thicker and more durable than standard wall paints and will hold up better under foot traffic. Tip: When shopping around for concrete paint, be sure to choose a product specifically formulated for use on concrete. Mixing the accent colors with an acrylic glaze will create greater translucency and allow the base color to show through. The floor is first painted with the desired base color, and then one or more accent colors are applied by brush or sponge to create veining effects.

Painting concrete floors to look like marble is similar to faux finishing of walls and offers more color options than concrete staining. This method can be used on plain, uncolored concrete to produce natural gray highlights and lowlights or in combination with color hardeners for a more mottled appearance. It involves hand or machine troweling the surface over and over again in a swirling motion until the desired pattern and degree of color variation is achieved.Īs a bonus, burnishing also gives the floor a smooth, marble-like sheen. Tom Ralston Concrete in Santa Cruz, CA.īurnishing a newly placed concrete floor or concrete overlay can mimic the highlights and lowlights of marble by producing natural-looking color variations. The color intensity can vary depending on the porosity of the concrete (see Acid Staining Basics).Ī burnished finish with natural-looking highlights and lowlights. Tip: To make sure you get the desired results, test the stain colors and application techniques you plan to use for your marbled concrete floor on an inconspicuous area of the slab. But expect to pay more if you plan to use multiple stain colors and hand-applied methods. The cost of acid-stained concrete flooring starts at just $2 per square foot, significantly less than marble and other natural stone flooring options. The sealer acts as a resist and prevents the stain from penetrating the areas where it was applied. You can also incorporate marble-like veins into your floor design by applying a clear sealer to the concrete prior to staining using an eyedropper or artist’s brush. For more distinct marbling effects, you can stain the entire floor with one color and spot stain over it with a diluted solution of the same or a different color.

They work by penetrating and reacting with the concrete surface to produce light and dark areas that simulate the color variations of real stone.

Kent Magnell Concrete Artisan in Santa Rosa, CA.Ĭoncrete acid stains are ideal for creating natural-looking marbling effects on bare concrete floors. Fern green acid stain combined with decorative scoring.
