Concrete countertop color question

[ILChief]

Ok, so I'm building an outdoor kitchen. I poured concrete countertops into melamine molds. Used Quikrete 5000, Quikrete liquid cement color (charcoal), remesh, etc. they turned out pretty good. Smooth tops and edges, only a few pinholes. They were poured about 3 weeks ago. There are 4 individual sections. The largest section appears to be drying a much lighter gray (almost white) than the others (medium to dark gray). Any suggestions on how to get them to match better? I've read that a gloss/wet look sealant may help. I'm also open to dye/stain/paint but would rather not if avoidable. Thanks

[Dunit35]

I made a outdoor bar with a concrete countertop. I used an acid stain and good thing the top wasn't expensive to make because it does not look good. You have to be careful when you're removing the excess stain or it will run off the sides and not look awesome. The rest of it looks good though.

[ILChief]

I made a outdoor bar with a concrete countertop. I used an acid stain and good thing the top wasn't expensive to make because it does not look good. You have to be careful when you're removing the excess stain or it will run off the sides and not look awesome. The rest of it looks good though.

If I go the staining route it will probably be a water based or semi transparent tinted

[mikeyis4dcats.]

i think an anoline or acid dye would be best

[ILChief]

I wonder after more research if this could be efflorescence? Or is that only for older concrete? Any experts?

[stevieray]

Concrete stains have come a long way and look awesome.

If you were local , I could paint them to look like marble.


Good luck!

[mikeyis4dcats.]

I wonder after more research if this could be efflorescence? Or is that only for older concrete? Any experts?

does it look like salt crystals?

[ILChief]

does it look like salt crystals?

White streaks. Feels smooth though so that's probably not it. The section that is lighter stayed face down on the melamine quite a bit longer than the other sections due to me needing help flipping it over. That's the only difference I can think of. Tried to keep the color to concrete ratio the same in all the batches