This document provides step-by-step instructions for stamping concrete to create decorative surfaces like brick, slate, or stone on patios, pool decks, and driveways. The 21 steps include: cleaning and preparing the concrete surface with acid, masking off areas, applying base and bond coats of cement mixture, embedding stamp mats in the wet top coat, using tools to refine the stamped pattern, applying colorant and sealer. Stamped concrete can transform plain concrete into an attractive surface with low maintenance.

1. How to Stamp Concrete
Patios, Pool Deck,
Driveways etc.
Whether you want to have a new look
on your patio, or maybe have an
impressive pool deck, or probably have
a durable, low maintenance and yet
beautiful driveway, stamped concrete
overlays is perfect for you.
This decorative concrete system can
imitate any look on your plain grey
concrete like brick, slate, flagstone,
stone, tile and even wood. It can also
be applied on top of an old damaged concrete and make it a work of art.
Below is a step by step procedure on how to stamp concrete.
1. Pressure wash the concrete with a 3200 PSI pressure washer. The goal here is to remove any foreign
particles in the pores of the concrete and also to remove any loose concrete.
2. Mix 1 part muriatic acid with 8 parts of clean water and put this in a watering jug or pump up sprayer.
It is important to use a plastic sprayer as the muriatic acid will corrode metal sprayers.
3. Spray the acid and water mixture on the concrete. You should hear a light fizzle on the surface.
4. Use the same plastic sprayer and mix 1 part ammonia with 8 parts of clean water. The acid then
ammonia wash will neutralize the ph of the concrete and also open the capillaries of the surface.
5. Now give the concrete a good rinse with water.
6. Mask and tape off any area or surface you do not wish to get your stamped concrete coatings on.
7. Mix Elite Crete System's THIN-FINSH™ in a 20 litre bucket.
8. Wet the concrete again and apply initial base coat of THIN-FINSH™. Be sure to remove any puddles
before apply base coat. All tool joints and expansion joints must be honer. Failing to do so may result in
cracks showing on the surface sometime in the future.
9. It is important that the first base coat is entirely dry before proceeding to this step. Once the base
coat is dry you will wet the surface and apply the bond coat in the same manner as you applied the base
coat.
10. Mix 4 bags of Elite Crete System's TEXTURE-PAVE™ with water in 4 20 litre buckets.

2. 11. Wet the surface of the bond coat and remove any standing puddles.
12. Pour the 4 mixed bags of TEXTURE-PAVE™ on the wet bond coat with a gauge rake that is set to1/4".
This should spread to approximately 9 to 10 m2. Use a trowel to fix the edges and a magic trowel or
squeegee on a pole to fix the gauge rake application lines.
13. The TEXTURE-PAVE™ now needs to begin to cure. The amount of time this takes depends on the
environmental conditions on the day, this can be anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes. You can test
the hardness by very lightly placing your thumb into the Texture pave no more than a few mm's. If you
can leave a mark and barley any sand sticks to your thumb you can proceed to the next step.
14. Using a pump up sprayer, apply Elite Crete System's CLEAN-PRINT™ liquid release agent to the
TEXTURE-PAVE™ and also to your textured concrete stamp.
15. Place your textured concrete stamps on the curing TEXTURE-PAVE™, overlapping each stamp by at
least 8 cm's. Step on the textured concrete stamps and be sure to place your feet over every cm but do
not stand on the edges of the stamps. Once the surface has been stamped, slowly peel off the textures
concrete stamps and move to the next unstamped area and repeat this step. A smaller touch-up skin can
be used on the edges.
16. Use your steel trowel to clean up the excess on the edges of the concrete.
17. Once you have completed stamping all of the TEXTURE-PAVE™, you must allow it to dry and have all
of the CLEAN-PRINT™ evaporated before proceeding.
18. Use a grey pencil to mark out all of the areas you wish to cut. Wearing eye protection, use a small
hand grinder to score the surface with the desired lines or patterns. You do not need to go deep.
19. Blow the surface clean, removing all dust before proceeding to the next step.
20. Add 60 ml of PORTION CONTROL COLORANT™ with 3.8 litres of ULTRA-STONE™ antiquing stain then
dilute this mixture with 11.5 litres of clean water.
21. Use a pump up sprayer to apply the coloured mixture. 1 litre should cover approximately 3.8 m2 per
litre.
22. Once the previous step has completely dried, apply a professional grade sealer, such as CSS
EMULSION™. The sealer should have at least two coats with the second being thicker than the first.