Behr Stain and Cement Painting Follow-up Review
behr-colors-chart
Cement Painting
Last summer I talked about the staining or painting a basement, garage floor or driveway with Behr Cement Stain.
I raved about how even a klutz could make his driveway look like newly poured cement. I am also the klutz that began driving his car on it before it was fully cured. As for not researching stain paint hues or behr colors that might be better at concealing the wear and tear on a driveway, count me guilty as charged on that count too. Cement Painting is not easy and it requires some preparation. I thought it would be worth a follow up review on how my Behr Paint Stain or cement driveway paint job held up after 1 full winter of Colorado weather.
What happened to the Behr Cement Color?
The answer to how my Behr Stain job held up after one full winter in Colorado is that it was a sad, dismal failure. In the beginning, the freshly white Behr Color looked so much like new cement I was just sure I had saved several thousand dollars on a new Cement Job for my driveway. Unfortunately, that is not what I was thinking 4, 5 and 6 months later. The paint began to peel, and the old driveway color underneath looks tragically like a dirt, muddy driveway. Six months after painting it, I estimate that only 70% of the original Behr Stain color is left. Some knucklehead didn't think to match the Behr Stain Color with the original driveway color in case it peeled! If there is one bright spot, it is that my Dap Ready-Mix Driveway Concrete Patch job has held up well. I would guess that 95% or more of the patching I did last summer has prevented the driveway from further peeling and chipping. Dap Ready Mix, hooray. Behr Cement Driveway stain, BOO..
Where did I do Wrong?
For one, thing I should have looked into Behr Color Charts or tried harder to find a color that matched my darker, more naturally-worn darker-colored driveway. The local hardware store could have easily mixed the stain for me to find a stain color that was a more suitable match. Secondly, I should have stayed off the driveway for a couple of days to allow the Behr Stain to cure. It does seem that most of the wear & tear is where the car tire tracks are leading into the garage. Finally, I probably should have looked into better cleaning and preparation prior to staining the surface.
Conclusion on Behr Stains and Behr Colors for Cement Driveways
I'm willing to give the Behr Concrete Stain another try this summer. My driveway surface is in too good of shape to consider paying for a whole new concrete job. hmmm.. Not so fast. There are other brands and ways. Paint Frazee, Paint Duron, Paint Dutch Boy and Paint Dunn Edwards are a few names in stain and paint that I've heard tossed around. I may look into those brands first, but one thing's for sure. Don't choose such a stain color that is in dramatic contrast to my original driveway!
Color your Driveway or Patio
| Rust-Oleum 239414A Concrete Stains Kit, Sandstone Color Hues |
 |
Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: $109.99 |
| Amazon Price: $105.78 |
Tagged with: Cement Paint • Driveway Repair • Driveway Stain
Filed under: Home Improvement
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
US $10.59
Hi Rob,
I’m sorry to hear you are having difficulties with your concrete staining project.
I work for the Behr brand and we are very interested in making sure our customers are completely satisfied with their purchase. I can’t say exactly what may have caused the issue that you are experiencing as the post doesn’t mention the preparation details, square footage of the area, or the amount of product used. However, possible causes for peeling are over application of the product, efflorescence pushing up against the paint causing it to peel or insufficient surface preparation.
To fix this issue, you will need to remove the stain that is not adhering properly using one of the following methods:
1) If the peeling/cracking is in small areas we recommend using a wire brush on the surface.
2) If the surface is also peeling away in many areas, we recommend stripping the epoxy completely with the Behr Stripper No. 999 or 992.
Once the surface is stripped I would recommend checking the porosity of the surface by doing a water test. You do this by sprinkling a few drops of water in several spots to ensure the stain will penetrate. If the surface is not porous, we recommend etching the surface with Behr’s No. 991-N Concrete & Masonry Cleaner/Etcher. After etching, or if you determine the surface is porous, we highly recommend using Behr’s Bonding Primer No. 880 to fortify the coating. Behr’s Etcher and Bonding primer are only recommended on bare concrete. Allow the Bonding Primer to dry at least 8 hrs before applying the stain.
We would like to be able to help you further with this issue so please contact us directly through the BEHR website at http://www.behr.com.
Sincerely,
E-Behr
BEHR Web Communications
I would like to thank Behr for their thorough reply and interest in helping me complete this project properly.
The areas of my driveway that have peeled is now massive, so this would be a good opportunity for me to try the 999 or 992 stripper.
The recommendation on the water test is interesting. This is new information that deserves further considerat on Product Review Ratings (PRR).
If it ever stops raining, I think I will be writing an updated article on driveway staining that actually works!
How much more is the Stripper, primer and new stain going to cost?? ugh.
I too had a bad experience staining concrete. Used a semi-transparent Behr stain and after one winter, I had a tortoise shell effect, some concrete, some stain. Bad thing is, in some areas the stain worked as intended. In others, it simply didn’t bond. Now I have to try and clean the entire surface (guess with the masonry stripper 992) and go back to the drawing board. Just wondering how well the stripper will work. Guess I have to give it a shot.
Here is my experience.
I have a driveway that is about 10 years old. For the most part it is in very good shape with the exception of some hairline cracks.
First I cleaned the driveway using dawn dishwashing detergent. I then rinsed it very well.
24 hour later I sealed the cracks with an expandable drive crack sealer.
I let it dry for 3 days.
I then washed the drive again with dawn. Hosed it off very well. This removed all of the oils on the surface.
I then power washed it again
I let it drv for another 3 days.
After that I purchased the Behr Etching no 991. I used it just as instructed. I hosed it off very well.
I let it dry for another 48 hours.
During all of this time I had not been parking on the drive and it was not driven on.
After it was etched I then used the Behr Primer – I used a color that was very close to the color of the concrete as was reccomended above.
I let the primer dry 36 hours.
After that I painted with the Behr concrete paint. I put on one coat and let it dry 4 days. On the 4th day it began to rain. In Florida it rains hard when it rains.
That is when the trouble started.
The paint is now peeling where water had run across the surface. Right now its only in these areas but when I take a broom over other areas I can hear a hollow sound as if the pain has not bonded well.
I followed all of the directions to a tea. Took my time. Did some major surface prep. It just didnt take.
Now I have to go and purchase the stripper to see if that will help. I am hoping that I only have to strip the areas that are peeling. If it is going to be the whole drive, that is a major job, again……
I hope this goes ok. I just wish the product would have worked like it was supposed to the first time.
I am going to try and strip the area that needs it and will repaint I will let you know how it goes.
Just another follow up after going outside to see the extent of the work that needed to be done
About 1/4 of the entire drive will need to be stripped and repainted.
I think at this time I am going to just strip the drive and not repaint
I am not sure how it will look I may be forced to repaint depending upon how the old paint comes up.
I wish I could post photos here.
I called Behr prior to stripping the area.
They state that they think the cause of the issue was from putting on too much at one time.
This was only 1 very thin layer and it is holding well in some areas so I tened to disagree with them but thats ok. They say that 1 gallon of the paint is supposed to cover 650 to 700 sq ft. This is a very pourous drive and it did take twice as much. I had been a professional painter for 5 years before so I am sure I was using the product to the best of its ability.
It took me about 4 hours on my hands and knees with a wire brush, a paint scraper and coarse brushes to get up the areas that had started to peel.
This was a big job. Its not as easy as just saying, sand the areas that are coming up.
After talking to the Behr rep I decided not to strip the entire drive. Thats another costly and labor intensive project.
Insted I “sanded” the areas that were peeling. Note the info above.
I then made sure everything was clean, by sweeping the area well. It was already cleaned quite well from the prep. I did the spot water test and the water absorbed well. I had a small amount of primer left so I primed the bad areas again. Let it dry for 12 hours and then applied a new thin coat of paint.
Its not a perfect fix. So far it has not started to peel but it has not rained. I am still not letting anyone park, drive or walk on the drive until sometime arount October 15th or 16th at the earliest.
Although I sanded quite well, you can see where the paint had chipped off under the top coat which is not what I really wanted but at least it looks much better than the peeling paint. At this point it still looks better than the state of the drive prior as it still has a clean fresh look. I hope it stays this way now.
It will be several more days until the true nature of the product comes out. It has not rained since this application.
I hope this works because if it does not I am not looking forward to the difficult project ahead of stripping the paint from the drive. If this is the case I would think that my drive would never be the same and I might have to consider an asphalt topcoat of a concrete repair from a contractor.
I started this project as more of a cosmetic thing now it is becomming a major project. If this fails I may never be able to get all of the paint off of the drive by stripping and I fear that the etching may have weakened the concrete some causing issues in the future.
Ill keep posting the results as they happen
David,
Thank you so much for keeping us tuned in on your driveway stripping and painting. As you can probably tell, I gave up on mine. I’m going to let it sit and look ugly over the winter. Like you, when I began the stripping I learned what an enormous job of scrubbing and peeling this was going to be, even with the Behr Stripper. I can tell you this, the Behr Articles are the most popular posts on this board. Having a new driveway poured is an expensive fix, and apparently there are lots of people like you and I would love to just paint the cement, stain and seal it and make it look like new. As we’re finding out, there really is no easy or cheap way of doing it. A large driveway is going to require a lot of cement paint. And as I found out, a lot of stripper if you do it wrong! The costs add up.
Thanks again, and please keep us updated.
Rob
So when do you know when to use an etcher vs. just a cleaner? Is the absorption test the way to tell? In other words, if drops of water easily absorb into the concrete, then you don’t need to etch?
Most of the comments so far seem so be related to the semi-transparent stain. Anyone have any experience with the solid stain? Does that hold up any better?
Bob,
According to Behr’s answer above, if the surface is NOT porous, you need to etch. So, if drops of water are easily absorbed into the surface, a cleaner or stripper is preferred over the etching.
Would love for E-Behr to pay us another visit real soon, as we do seem to be getting some activity on this topic.
Check back soon,
Rob
I have begun painting my garage with the Behr semi-transparent concrete stain. I’ve cleaned and etched it and have put down the first coating of stain when stumbled across your site. I didn’t know I had to prime first. It wasn’t in the literature to use primer. I do plan to seal the floor after a second coat. Do you think that will prevent the peeling that you are experienciing? Unlike Colorado, our winters are relatively mild.
Chris,
I sure wish I could give you a confident answer, but I can’t. I failed with my own driveway and I’m not about to attempt to give someone else advice. My hunch is that since you’ve cleaned and etched it first, you have a much greater chance of success than did I. On the other hand, I certainly wouldn’t say this with any amount of confidence. Please contact the helpful Behr Company Representative who visited us a while ago. Ask him what he thinks.
ebuck@behr.com
Best of luck,
Rob