The Best Way to Paint Concrete

After making those fabulous concrete projects they deserve some special finishing! You my friends deserve to know my secrets for the Best Way to Paint Concrete.

What to do with the concrete:

After I make my bowls or bags or even any of the other concrete projects I need to decide how to finish them. I like concrete, and I like ‘naked’ concrete – but sometimes I fancy a bit of colour! I HATE when I see huge thick layers of solid colour on concrete. It makes it look like badly cast plastic. The whole charm of concrete is the texture and the lovely greys of this material made with natural elements. I often get asked about ‘sealing concrete’ but this is post is more about the aesthetic way to add colour.

These ways of finishing with paint can be used on indoor or outdoor concrete. I use my good quality acrylic paints as I notice they stand up to use as much as any specialty type of acrylic paints. I try to avoid the super cheap as you know that you only get what you pay for. Acrylic paint has a flexibility once cured that helps it cling to the surface through expansion and contraction due to temperature. There are also outdoor acrylic paints if you prefer. I painted some rocks with my kids eons (15 years?) ago and they are still fine, as long as they stay away from being in water.

Step # 1 – Thin Seal

To keep the concrete from being too absorbent of the next layer I give it a sparse layer of Matt Medium. This will give no colour but will allow easier wiping off of the antiquing stage. Otherwise it would soak up the paint and not give the desired effect. Thin the Matt Medium with about 30% water and only brush across the high surfaces. No need to get it into every crevice. Keep it a thin layer. Let dry, as it will quite quickly.

Step # 2 – Thin Antiquing Wash

Mix a watery dark paint (black or what ever colour you like) with about 50% water and 50% matt medium. Using a non-precious stiff brush brush it all over the concrete piece quickly. Make sure to get it into the crevices, hence the stiff brush. This will bring out so much of the details! It can be any colour you desire.

Step # 3 – Wipe off:

With a soft rag (like an old towel or similar) wipe off the ‘antiquing wash’ paint so that it remains in the crevices. If it has dried a bit you can usually dampen the rag to help remove it.

It is amazing how the details now come to life! Many years ago I used to paint greenware beer steins in a similar way to get the definition of the relief work on the surface. This is not rocket science but well-guarded artists secrets!

There’s no limit to how you can vary this technique. The beauty is that you can keep the almost ‘naked’ look of the concrete without ‘gobs’ of paint. Any outdoor painted concrete will eventually fail… yup, sorry to burst your bubble. That’s how the driveway sealer guys stay in business.

Once a thickly painted concrete would start to peel it has sections that didn’t; that’s the problem. This technique is so sparse that it may not be that evident that it is failing if/when it does = win. It also somewhat mimics the natural way concrete will ‘patina’.

So many Options:

Textures are brought out with the antiquing wash that you did not even see before. You can use lighter contrasts if you like as well.

This work especially well for leaves and anything textured like fabric.

But it also works on anything else like my life-cast hands.

I can not imagine these painted in a solid colour at all! I cringe when I see thick bright colours painted onto concrete in the idea that it protects. Concrete is porous so that means there is moisture passing in and out. If something; like paint gets in the way it gets pushed off. If there are are ways for it to breath then it will more likely stay.

Just like nature is endless beauty to behold, so are these permanent captures of it!

Optional Step # 4 – Dry-Brush Accenting:

Even after the antiquing wash you may want to add some more accenting to bring out even more details or add a colour accent.

To dry-brush (incidently one of my MOST FAVOURITE paint techniques) you take a dry soft type brush and only add a tiny bit of paint. Work most of it off on a paper towel and then run it across the surface.

Scrub around and it will slightly add the accent only on the highest surfaces. It worked so great for the burlap bowls & Burlap bags. Now you can see every strand of the burlap.

I especially love to add the accent using a metallic paint (like a bronze, silver, gold or copper) It is like magic as it looks like it’s cast in metal! It only takes a drop or 2 for such amazing effect.

Combining techniques:

So why not antique it, add some varied dry brushing with different colours (like fall leaves) and some gold around the edges. The texture is captured by the dark antique wash of step # 2.

I love how these bowls also have the leaf on both top and bottom, so they deserve the best way to paint concrete.

You can never get that amount of detail by ‘globbing’ on paint. And it is so fast!

Change colours to mimic nature. Don’t use colours straight from the tube, come on, mix some unique colours. You know this is the best way to paint concrete! Look outside for inspiration.

Do I need to seal?

That’s a loaded question! If it makes you feel much better to know the whole piece is encased in a layer of clear matt medium; sure go ahead. But then do not use outside. I like to let the outside concrete have ability to ‘breathe’ so a not complete layer is better. That’s my theory from observation of all the concrete I leave outside in the winter and year-round. The one big no-no is to let anything that can hold water freeze! Bam, it will crack! Even metal buckets will push out the bottom from freezing! (ask me how I know…) As for the inside of planters, I’m still working on some type of sealer for that…

So go make some concrete projects! Before you know it… you will have a lot of concrete. ‘And many choices of colour! Happy making!