Coloured Concrete

[chiangrai]

Do you know the colour that I've only seen Thai people put on concrete.

It's called "see bpoone"(colour powder).

They use it on floors.They put down concrete first then mix up a rebder mix,put the coloured powder in the render mix and render the floor with it.

Does anyone know the english name for this.

Also the Thai guy who is going to put it on my yard says that you must put the coloured render on the same day that you put

down the concrete or else the colour will fade faster.

Is this true.

What do you think about this stuff,does it last.I asked a Thai guy if the colour

lasts forever and he said "yes,and it lasts even longer if you varnish it."

[stoneyboy]

Powdered colorant.

[noahvail]

Yep, he's right. Had it done to one of my places in NZ. Would suggest a sealant otherwise the colour will slowly leach out, especially if you use a water blaster on it or have a hot tub with chlorine splashing onto it.

[chiangrai]

O.K,Thanks,

But the twenty million baht question is.

Can you put it on top of existing concrete or do you

have to put the concrete down and then put the coluured

render on top before the lower layer of concrete dries.

This is what my builder says and I really need to know if it's

bullshit or not.If it's bullshit I will just put the concrete down and leave the colour untill the

dry season.

What kind of sealant should you put on top,is that the varnish I heard mentioned.

I'm just about to do the job so I would love an answer.

[Rust Never Sleeps]

I will qualify that my last imput in" Do it yourself housing forum" was wrong because of lack of knowledge of Thai building materials, but i have had limited experience

in cement and concrete colouring and sealant application.

The colourants that i have used have been a natural substance called iron oxide, which come in three colours, black, red and yellow( which can be mixed when

used in powder form). You can also use synthetic colouring but it is expensive.

Now this qualification is based on my own experience in Australia.

The iron oxide powder was put into the cement and or concrete in the mixing process.( not on top ).

The sealant that was used was called 2 pac in which i applied 5 coats..

The only problem that I found with 2 pac is that it does not like hot oil splatter and grit underfoot.In regards to oil splatter it went through all 5 layers of 2 pac leaving

black blemishes that could not be removed unless taken back to cement or concrete level.In regards to grit, scatches were only penetrated 1 layer and could only be

seen when seriously looking at it ( not unlike timber flooring).