Staining new exterior concrete

[ZYouL8R]

I had a slab poured about a month ago for a pergola I'm building and now it's time to stain the concrete. It is a broom finish, so it is pretty rough, not smooth like a garage floor or anything. What would be the best way to stain this given it's texture? Since it's new, does it need the acid etch first or is that not required? Any recommendations on types of stain to use? Thanks.

[bird_dog0347]

I had a slab poured about a month ago for a pergola I'm building and now it's time to stain the concrete. It is a broom finish, so it is pretty rough, not smooth like a garage floor or anything. What would be the best way to stain this given it's texture? Since it's new, does it need the acid etch first or is that not required? Any recommendations on types of stain to use? Thanks.

I would use whatever stain has a professional attached to the end of it. Screw doing that myself and screwing it up.

[8mpg]

garden sprayer

[GeorgeG.]

http://www.decorativecs.com/

Check these guys out... the process itself is pretty easy, especially if it's outside. They also sell a professional grade sprayer, which would probably work better when applying the gloss/sealer, but any home depot mid-grade sprayer works well for the acid stain.

Avoid the Home Depot stains.