Hey guys! I got a strange driveway to fix. Curious if any of y’all have experience with fixing an etch from a surface cleaner?
This driveway is 4500sf and was etched soon after getting poured by a guy and his surface cleaner. It was also “stained” but it faded quickly. (Maybe the stain went with the cream?) It’s been a few years now and the customer is real tired of getting made fun of for it and wants me to cover it up with a dark chocolate stain, maybe coffee or walnut. I’m doing a wash, an exterior dye sprayed on, a penetrating sealer, and a topcoat of coval. Now, do y’all think a dark stain will be enough to cover these etch marks? Anyone have experience with cover-ups and would rather recommend grinding first? I’m trying to avoid the grind because that would involve a rental plus also adding texture as it would ruin the broom finish. What do y’all think? I don’t want to over-promise especially since the work is going to be expensive.
2 pics of the concrete and a photo off Google to represent how dark he wants to go.
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At this point, it’s not your problem. My advice is keep it that way.
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You can try the F9 Facebook group, they do mention concrete restoration quite a bit using different methods.
You can etch the entire drive with some Muratic acid… it will have a rough finish but at least it will be uniform
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See how it looks in that pic, now imagine that but tinted brown…
Why would you even consider messing with this? Like already said, don’t make someone else’s problem your own.
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I tried working with something like this a few years ago. Not much you can do, best advice is to let the client know that and walkway.
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The honest truth is there are skilled fellows that can and will figure a way to make this concrete beautiful again. I was curious if any of you had successful experience with it. Thanks for letting me know you folks are not those people.
I applaud you for doing your best to look out for your customer. The folks above are just doing the same for you so you don’t get caught in a pickle. I just wash stuff, I don’t restore anything. I keep a rolodex full of skilled fellows I send those kind of things to so I can get back to washing. Ask them if they’ve heard of ‘decorative concrete overlays’ if they have unlimited funds. Find them a dude & you’ll be a hero x2 without that headache.
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I understand 
My washing is just so slow and tbh it’s kind of boring. I consistently learn new tricks and trades so I can specialize. Charging more for the special work. I didn’t start out this way but I’m constantly finding myself in these befuddling situations that I opt into cuz the washing market is so flooded where I’m at.
I’m pretty friendly so I might have to go call up other decorative companies and start buying them lunch lol. Thanks everyone.
I have fixed concrete like that, a real light abrasive blast using a recycled glass media, the glass media is fairly soft but sharp and if you keep a distance you can blend the etch marks, done it before.
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