Copper Sulphate Stain For Concrete Floor

It took a little longer than I had planned, but I finally have a concrete floor:

 Once the first pour was done, about 3", we lifted the pex up so it is sitting in the middle of the slab.

 Now for a little experiment: While I was looking for information on staining concrete I found that most of the brown stains contain some form of iron sulphate. It just so happened that I had a left over bucket of Copper Sulphate that was used for weed control in our pond. Hmmm, Copper instead of Iron... Blue instead of brown... what the hell I figured I'd give it try. I can always cover it with epoxy if I don't like it ;) I'm sure some will love it, and some will hate it. I think it looks great.

 I mixed about 5 gallons of water with 2 quarts of crystals and kept stirring it every few hours for a day or so. I used one of those 1.5 gallon hand pump sprayers to apply it. I did 3 applications, brushing off the excess powder between coats (wear a good respirator, it's not deadly, but it is an irritant). While I like the look I have, 1 or 2 coats would give a lighter blue/green.

Once it was stained, I put down a coat of "Kure-N-Seal W".  Basically it allows you to seal your concrete as soon as the surface moisture is gone. They claim it slows the curing process ( read stronger crete) and protects the surface. It was perfect because there is no way I'm waiting 28 days to seal it. I need to start using the shop, and once I put my shit in the shop, I'm not taking out 30 days later to seal it :)

The sealer goes on milky white and dries clear. I apllied it with the hand sprayer as well. It was a little scary at times wondering what the final outcome would be. It went from ugly white powder, to blue/black (with clouds?), to the final blue/green copper I was hoping for.