Faded stamped Sidewalk

[soccerluvof4]

I live in the Arctic Midwest and when we bought the house the front sidewalk is stamp concrete. The concrete is in great shape not a crack in it. The problem is instead of mixing the color in the concrete its more of a top coat in is maybe half inch in if that. This may or maybe not added to if fading and turning white. The previous owners i found used some cheap stuff from a box store year after year and made it worse. I hired a company before I got into the DIY thing about 2 years ago and the guy tried a chemical stripper in a spot , came back in a couple days and it looked great. They spent relentless hours using that chemical and power-washing and the old sealer came of like candle wax.  When it was all said and done it looked like brand new for about a month which he was honest and said this might not work. It really makes the house look like shit and I hate to take it out but its ugly unless wet from rain.  I have seen now Box stores Like HD now advertises deck and concrete stain but I cant imagine that holding up. Anyone have any ideas at all. The color is a deepish red/tan i don't know, but as i said it really distracts from houses appeal and I would like to do something about it. Also if faces to the south wish doesn't help. There were two patios in the back (facing North) he did same thing too and its been two years and there fine.

[Greg]

You could try some concrete acid stain on the concrete, it comes in many colors but may not work because of what's already been done to it.  Another method is acetone-based dye, but it requires a protective coating.

[trailrated]

How large of an area is it? It might be worth it to just re-pour. I am a manager at a concrete company and can say a lot of problems I get called to come troubleshoot are from the contractors when they just sprinkle the color pigment on top of the concrete or go the route you just told us about. When going with color concrete it is always better to have it mixed in with the concrete as it is batched so it is uniform throughout. After that you should use a color sealer once every other year or so.

[soccerluvof4]

How large of an area is it? It might be worth it to just re-pour. I am a manager at a concrete company and can say a lot of problems I get called to come troubleshoot are from the contractors when they just sprinkle the color pigment on top of the concrete or go the route you just told us about. When going with color concrete it is always better to have it mixed in with the concrete as it is batched so it is uniform throughout. After that you should use a color sealer once every other year or so.

You could try some concrete acid stain on the concrete, it comes in many colors but may not work because of what's already been done to it.  Another method is acetone-based dye, but it requires a protective coating.

its about 300 square feet of otherwise perfect concrete. Damn near wish i could just sand the damn top off 1/3 of an inch or so. In the past as you mentioned mine was always put in at the plant but when I bought this house they must of just put on a fresh cheap layer from the box store. I will do some more research on the acid-stain but think I am screwed. Either leave it or rip it out. For now since its perfect I will leave it unless i find something else that makes sense.