Cement Mix/Mortar Color Additives

[Timber]

I AM SICK AND TIRED OF PAINTING THE WOODEN NUMBERS INSET IN THE TEEPADS!!!!:wall::doh:

I feel better now I got that out of my system.

We inset wooden hole numbers into the concrete tees at Bluemont during installation thinking we could paint them the same color as the Red, White and Blue tee designation. Unfortunately, any paint we use only lasts about 4 months. Sanding, roughening, ice pick punching and everything else we have tried does not last much longer than 6 or 8 months.

I had installed 4x4's with 2" x 1/2" thick numbers routed into them at the front of the original dirt tees and I used colored polyurethane as fill to denote the tee color. These colors stayed relatively vibrant until the boards rotted so I considered chiseling out the wood on the concrete tees and refilling the recesses with polyurethane.

Then I started thinking how the numbers in the toe boards were a much smaller size and they did not have foot traffic on them the same way a 6" x 2" thick number inset into a concrete pad would. Sand, cleats, etc. would eventually mar the surface and become a dirty whitish opaque.

Does anyone here have experience using cement or mortar color additives?

My research has shown that dying or painting the concrete is not a very good option. Even though I mentioned Mortar in the thread title, the optimum procedure seems to be cement mix (Not ready mix) and sand with colorant.
Cherry or apple Red, Bright White and Royal or bright Blue would be the preferred colors.

Feel free to prerube this topic at:
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?p=43119&highlight=colored+concrete#post43119

 

[Troy Jan]

http://www.cttscommerce.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?
This would do the job.

 

[Troy Jan]

http://www.cttscommerce.com/mm5/mer...oduct_Code=KD-CH-550&Category_Code=03A-CC01CH
This should work blue will be hard to find

 

[Bultx1215]

I'd be tempted to give this a try....the sanded version...http://colorriteinc.com/grout-caulk1 Or something along those lines. Chisel out the wood numbers and fill the void solid with this stuff. Most of the better concrete stain/color manufacturers have their own elastomeric sealants in colors to match their dry colors and stains.

If you put a colored sand mix in the hole, I would be worried about adhesion. It would work well up til the first freeze/thaw cycle. Then you will be back to square one once it spalls out. Even with bonding agent, it will pop out. Sand mix is notorious for it.


Stains and dry colors are not good for wear surfaces or high traffic areas as they require constant maintenance as they wear off. The way the wear is retarded or slowed down is by the use of sealers. Sealers make the surfaces slick...not a desired result for a tee pad. I have used some sealers that would work well....couldn't get them off with a grinder. Sprinkle a bit of blasting sand on it once its sprayed to get some traction and you would be fine. That type is VERY pricey...say 100 clams a qt. or more.

Best advice I can give you is to see what is around locally. These guys in Manassas look promising....http://www.buildingspecialtiesmanassas.com/concrete-stains-sealers-manassas/ If they are what I think they are, they should have someone that can make a recommendation. I don't know them as they were not there when I was working in NoVa.

 

[Menacewarf]

Have you thought about imbedding an object (plastic version) in the wet concreate? I suppose it's too late for that but might work better from the outset if the layout was set at the time.

 

[Grungedude42]

Powder coated metal numbers, maybe? You can get a DIY powder coat kit that you bake in the oven when the wife's not home.

 

[barneco]

What about some sort of epoxy inlay?

 

[Bultx1215]

Epoxy would work if you can get it to either be colored to begin with or take color. I am always hesitant to suggest it since its very unforgiving and takes more than entry level skill. As long as you are careful and religious about following the instructions, it can be done by anyone, though.

 

[Timber]

Best advice I can give you is to see what is around locally. These guys in Manassas look promising....http://www.buildingspecialtiesmanassas.com/concrete-stains-sealers-manassas/ If they are what I think they are, they should have someone that can make a recommendation. I don't know them as they were not there when I was working in NoVa.

This seems like the best way to start. I'll have to bring pictures with me to talk to someone in person. It would be nice if they had some physical samples on site.

The purchase of such a small volume and calculation of said volume required may be the biggest problem. The actual size of the digits are probably 6" tall numbers by 1 1/2" thick by 1 1/2" deep. (I'll measure them when I take the photos)

Any math wizards out there care to guesstimate the volume of 9 digits (#1 through #9) I'm guessing 3 gallons or 0.4 cubic feet of finished product for each tee color will be more than enough.

 

[Grungedude42]

6"x4" (surface area for the area of the number) * 1.5= 36 cubic inches per number. 1.5" deep is pretty darn deep. You might want to fill with concrete or something (maybe a texture under the epoxy, like marbles or pebbles?) to act as a cheap filler.

Assuming you use a filler to get you to an actual depth of 0.5", you can cut the volume down to 12 cu.in. per number (conservative estimate)

Holes 1-9 will need only one number, so 108 cu.in. Roughly double that for the back nine. 324 cu.in. in total. 5.3 Liters or 1.4 US gallons.

Triple that for the full 1.5" deep.

Glass marbles under epoxy would look awesome.

 

[Grungedude42]

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90603
Forget marbles. Use some glow rocks and epoxy for sweet sweet glow in the dark tee markers.

 

[Timber]

Roughly double that for the back nine. 324 cu.in. in total. 5.3 Liters or 1.4 US gallons.
Triple that for the full 1.5" deep.

It's only a nine hole course with 3 tees (R/W/B) per hole so 1 1/2 gallons of concrete for each color should suffice at the full 1 1/2 inch depth. Thinner depths may be more prone to cracking or chipping.

I love the glow rocks and/or marbles ideas with the epoxy but I am afraid of marring on the surface over time and epoxy/polyurethane is basically irremovable once it sets.

 

[Timber]

I just got back from measuring the wooden numbers in the rain.

The digit I measured on the red tee of hole five was 9" tall by 6 3/4" wide by 1 1/2" font thickness.
Perception and reality are seldom the same.

Unbelievably there was a "Grout Works" truck in the lot when I pulled up and I knew the player who drove the truck. We discussed the project while they played their last hole in the rain.

He said he could color seal the numbers after the wood was chiseled out and the recesses were filled with grout using colored sand.

I just sent him an email and I'm waiting for a reply...more later

 

[knettles]

What kind of paint have you used? I work at Lowe's and we have some pretty durable concrete and deck paint. Rustoleum Restore comes to mind. It's at least five times thicker than regular paint, supposed to hold up to heavy foot traffic, and is textured to give good grip. And of course you can get it in different colors, although they are limited.

 

[justactnormal]

What kind of paint have you used? I work at Lowe's and we have some pretty durable concrete and deck paint. Rustoleum Restore comes to mind. It's at least five times thicker than regular paint, supposed to hold up to heavy foot traffic, and is textured to give good grip. And of course you can get it in different colors, although they are limited.

This is true. It looks like you've already gone to the trouble of embedding the numbers, which looks really cool. I doubt that it'd be worth your while to get a gallon of 3 different colors of that Restore stuff. I've used it on my deck and it works fairly well, but it does start to chip and peel after a bit. It has on my deck anyway.

This is of little help considering all the trouble you've gone to to embed those numbers, but I've seen spray paint stencils on concrete last for years. It will eventually wear off, but it'll be a few years. Plus every color under the sun is available.

 

[Timber]

Painting is becoming a moot point as the wood is starting to rot on the tees closest to the creek.

 

[Bultx1215]

Seeing the pic makes me lean more to an elastomeric caulk/sealant. The surface has way too much aggregate on top, not near enough cream/cement. That will make it tough to get a cement based filler uniform along the edges..... very tough. At least with the sealant, you can clean up with a knife.

 

[Kenny53691]

Seeing the pic makes me lean more to an elastomeric caulk/sealant. The surface has way too much aggregate on top, not near enough cream/cement. That will make it tough to get a cement based filler uniform along the edges..... very tough. At least with the sealant, you can clean up with a knife.

I completely agree. With that concrete being that rough, it might be a challenge to make it flush with the top and look nice. Just make sure whatever you put down doesn't get super slick when it gets wet, even if it is on the back of the tee pad.

 

[Timber]

I have been considering using cardboard, like the back of a legal pad to line the inside edges for a crisp look. It would eventually just melt away over time. The only problem is getting it level with the surrounding surface.

 

[Bultx1215]

It would also make a channel for water to get in and destroy the work. That would be a bad call unless you went behind and sealed all the cracks after it was done and the cardboard removed. That would be a lot of work, but it would protect it as long as it was maintained semi-annually. Elasotmeric sealant lines can be mainly controlled with tape..and then cleaned up with a knife afterwards if necessary. Its still the lesser of the evils in my prof. concrete opinion. Cheapest and easiest, too.