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Whitish color on concrete... help!

17 years ago

I also posted this on the gardening with stones forum.

Hello everyone. I made some stepping stones this weekend, and I pressed some letters into them using the Poetry Stones kit. Anyway, after 48 hours (grey batch) and 24 hours (terra cotta batch), they are showing a bit of whitish discoloration. The main problem is with the terra cotta batch because I want them to be as dark as possible. Also, there was some of this white stuff in the lettering. I also noticed that anywhere I had to touch up afterwards with a trowel had a whitish cast, too. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this. Adding water allows it to return to the color I had before, but it dries. Also, to give you an idea of what I am talking about, imagine rubbing chalk dust on a terra cotta pot. I don't want this appearance, but I want it to look like the terra cotta's original color. Do you know how to prevent this or treat this? Thanks in advance.

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Comments (9)

amaretto
17 years ago
Aleopold

As your mix dries out and loses humidity, it will turn a lot more pale in color (chalk-like). I had a terracotta mix using terracotta dye and grey cement. At the beginning, it looked like dark chocolate, I even thought about taking a bite :-)

Now it looks like a very pale terracotta/brown. If you don't like the finish, remember you can use watered down stains once their dry
billie_ann
17 years ago
It's probably "Efflorescence". Sometimes it goes away on it's own. Sometimes you can scrub it away with water. Sometimes you have to use muriatic acid and water (1 part acid to 12 parts water). Give it a chance to go away on it's own before using the acid solution. Billie

Here is a link that might be useful: Cement Technology
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aleopold
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks. I also noticed that the first one I did had no whitish coloration. I read somewhere to dip the trowel in water and go over the top to give it a smooth edge. Each one that I did this way turned white. Can anyone explain why?
billie_ann
17 years ago
It can be hit or miss if you get efflorescence. The trowel won't make a difference. Did you check out the "trowel-tips" on the link I posted? Billie
aleopold
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes, I did. It was very helpful. I made another batch this afternoon; as the article said, I used no excess water in any step. I will let you know how this batch turns out. Should know in about 36 hours...
billie_ann
17 years ago
The less water you use the stronger your cured piece will be. Billie
aleopold
Original Author
17 years ago
Yea, thanks again Billie. I have heard that in the past. The stones turned out virtually perfect, no whitish color on top. Guess the water did make a difference.
billie_ann
17 years ago
What do the stepping stones look like? Are you doing any carving or imprints? Billie
aleopold
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes, I am using the Poetry Stones kit. I inaccurately described them earlier. They are more like cobblestones. I did, however, make some stepping stones the other night that turned out nicely. I got the mix too wet and couldn't press the letters well so I decided to just make stepping stones instead. They look great and just a spot or two of efflorescence on each of them. I think pure water will take it off. The two that I made had no impression in them.

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