Concrete Stain In-Fluence by Duravel

In-Fluence is Duravel's water-based, semi-transparent concrete stain, sold in 1 quart units in six colors: Chestnut, Coffee, Dolphin, Hazel, Steel and Willow. It colors cured concrete and cementitious overlays, and it is what you reach for when the floor needs depth and movement instead of a flat painted look.

Understand what a stain is before you buy one. A stain is not paint and it is not a pigmented coating. Color sits in the surface and lets the concrete underneath keep showing through, so slab variation, trowel marks, old patches and repair work all still read after the color goes down. That variation is the product working correctly, not a defect. In-Fluence is a water-based stain rather than a reactive acid stain, so color does not depend on a chemical reaction with free lime in the slab. You get more predictable, more repeatable results than acid gives you while keeping the variegated, translucent character that makes decorative concrete read as concrete. There is also no harsh acid fume on the jobsite and no acid residue to chase at cleanup.

Duravel builds In-Fluence with UV-stable pigments, so it works indoors and out. That matters on patios, pool decks and driveways, where a colorant that is not UV stable will fade or shift within a season or two.

Stain is a color step, not a protection step. In-Fluence has to be sealed. Left bare, stained concrete picks up oil, water spotting and traffic wear fast, and there is no wear layer over the color. Choose the sealer at the same time you choose the color, because the sealer is what sets the final look. A topical acrylic will darken and enrich the stain and add sheen. Always pull a sample on the actual slab, seal that sample, and approve the color wet-looking rather than dry. Dry stained concrete looks nothing like sealed stained concrete, and that gap is the single most common cause of a color complaint.