Chemical Concrete Stains Gain Respect


By Joe Nasvik

Mother Nature has been chemically staining our natural landscapes and rock formations for as long as the planet has been around. Man's attempts are much more recent, probably starting in the early 1900s. The first significant project of record was in 1927 at The Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite National Park.

The architect, Gilbert Stanley Underwood, sent a note to his contractor, instructing him to purchase certain chemicals, mix them with water, and apply them to the concrete floors of the hotel. Workers ground patterns into the floor surfaces and used the chemicals to produce different colors. The Ahwahnee is the best evidence today that chemically stained concrete floors are durable. The colors are still very evident, even though the floors have been subject to heavy traffic and abrasive wear.

Acid Etch Stained Restaruant Floor
Photo by Joe Nasvik


After more than 75 years of foot wear, chemically stained floors for the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park still show strong color contrast.

Until about 12 years ago, the general expectation was that an acid-etch stain should provide a uniform, solid-color finish. People looked at the color charts with printed, solid-color swatches and didn't pay much attention to the product data sheets that said colors are variegated and unique to each concrete surface. The mottled and unpredictable results didn't meet with expectations. Consequently, this method of applying color didn't gain much acceptance. At the time, stains were probably viewed more as a low-cost coloring alternative rather than an aesthetic treatment.

Enter Mike Miller, who is generally credited with changing attitudes about chemical stains. He experimented with new ways to use the materials and preached the value of finishes that reveal wide color ranges and subtle variations. The first large commercial project to be recognized for this approach was The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Miller formed a company aptly named The Concretist, based in Benicia, Calif. Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary (10th Edition) defines concretist as "one who practices concrete poetry." Millers poetry inspired a new way to use concrete as an artistic medium. Today, acid-etch chemical-stain finishes are gaining respectability in the fast-growing decorative-concrete industry.

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