There are many problems, which can occur in acid stain, or stained concrete if the concrete is not prepared properly or the problems not anticipated prior to the application process. If the air entrainment is very high, then the strength will go down resulting in no bleed. This can also create a problem if the dry shake color hardeners are not properly “wet out”. Another issue which can arise between the acid stain, or stained concrete is a high water-cement ratio. Surfaces that are more porous will result when there is too much water. With decorative concrete color, finishes and chemical stains will then diffract additional light in these instances, which gives off the impression of a weaker color. With a weaker surface, your decorative concrete will be prone to traffic wear patterns. If you have chemical stains, then increased traffic can remove the entire colored layer.
If there is a lack of curing, the symptoms can be similar to those with a higher w/c ratio. If your un-hydrated cement fails to develop calcium hydroxide, then there will be less of a chance for a reaction with certain decorative concrete products. That being said, your colored surface might appear to be less intense than concrete, which is well cured, applied with the same amount of color. This makes stained surfaces appear less intense and patterns can results from dusting and traffic wearing. However, certain decorative finishes are unable to tolerate the same curing methods, which are used on plain concrete.
