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Morning all,
I have lurked on these discussions for a while now and finally decided to seek advice regarding the attached picture of the stamped concrete that is our driveway and surrounding pathways, patios etc.
My query is, am I able to level this somehow and repaint this? I have searched the web regarding this and found various advice regarding primers, self-levelling concrete etc, however found it all confusing and felt this may be the place for the best advice.
Would rather DIY as we are quite capable, and with the extent of the "paving", there would be quite a cost for professionals to come in.
Thanks in advance...
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Coley. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about covering over stamped concrete.
There are no specific systems for covering and removing the texture of stamped concrete. There are also no self-levellers that will do the job without a certain amount of risk or that the supplier can warrant in this situation. The first question that needs to be asked is whether the stamped concrete has been sealed. If so, a cement-based self-leveller can't bind to the concrete as the sealer is a barrier. Not only that, but the texture is creating thousands of crevices and feathered edges over the entire surface, leaving a multitude of locations where the self-leveller could delaminate as it is not in a homogeneous layer.
To coat over the concrete, you'd need to take an angle grinder and abrade the entire surface and every little detail. This would be just about physically impossible due to the texture of the stamping. Given that the preparation requirements to apply a self-levelling cement over the stamping are out of the question, perhaps you could consider grinding the texture out of the concrete. You'd likely need to hire a larger industrial-sized machine for the bigger areas.
Can I ask, what don't you particularly like about the stamped concrete? Is it just the stamped look that you aren't particularly fond of?
Mitchell
That's understandable, @Coley; it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Once again, you're not going to be able to find a paint manufacturer that will warrant their product over stamped or stencilled concrete. There are just too many variables involved. This isn't to say that it can't be done, just that it's at your own risk. The first place to start would be with an absorption test. If the stamped surface doesn't readily absorb water, then it's been sealed. If it's been sealed, you can't paint over it as the paint won't bond to the sealer. Take some water and drip it over a flat section of the concrete. What 10-15minutes and then check to see whether the droplets have been absorbed into the concrete. If it does absorb, you could possibly acid etch the stamped concrete and then apply an exterior concrete paint to the surface. If it fails the absorption test, then you'd be looking at stripping the sealer, which is a tedious job involving noxious chemicals.
The alternative would be to contact a stamped concrete company to see if there are any methods they use and warrant for re-colouring.
Mitchell
Hi Mate, I had this exact problem with my old front patio. Best solution I did was get professional concrete grinding mob to come out and take the high spots of the stamp out then I painted the concrete with white knight ultra pave heavy duty from bunnings, although I don’t recommend ultra pave, it doesn’t last, colour fades too quick. Had quotes from a spray crete mob that can do what your after but big $$$
Many thanks for sharing your experience @kdm, much appreciated. I'm sure our members will find your post helpful.
Please don't hesitate to post whenever you have something to contribute to a discussion or a project to share. We also trust you'll get plenty of helpful advice and project inspiration in return from the rest of our wonderful community.
Welcome to Bunnings Workshop.
Jason
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