What's new and up and coming? Well, some new some not so new, but what is undeniable is that Concrete Countertops, Dyes and Microtop Overlays are making a great impact and are here to stay. Concrete Countertops have been around forever but now they are a very trendy medium thanks to some really good artisans that not only knew how to do wonderful work but also how to promote the industry. Fu Tung Chen and Buddy Rhodes immediately come to mind because they have made tremendous inroads to bring concrete countertops to the mainstream. For a long time these countertops were more of a curiosity for people that just wanted something different, now they are in vogue and in demand. Concrete countertops offer a warm earthy feeling that goes well with any surroundings, and they may be easily designed to match any style of decor, anywhere. The popularity of countertops have risen dramatically because it offers the customer freedom to choose a color, design, shape, texture, special features and so many other things not available with traditional materials such as marble and granite. When a contractor gives the homeowner the possibility of creating something special and unique it opens not only their wallet but it makes the finished product that much more appreciated and certainly a great topic of conversation. Concrete Countertops can become a work of art and may take weeks to complete while the whole step by step process is closely monitored by the artisan. You can cast in place or pre cast a countertop which gives the contractor even more choices and possibilities. The concrete Countertop industry has grown in leaps and bounds on the last few years, more and more companies are manufacturing materials and related products and more contractors are learning the intricacies of fabricating a countertop through seminars and schools. In spite of all this growth, the industry it is still in its infancy and it will continue to expand. For more information on countertops please go the Countertops Forums. Concrete Dyes are used more than ever now, and not only as the finished product but also on repairs and touch ups. Dyes are coloring compounds dissolved in a solvent, typically Alcohol or Acetone, they don't have any binders in them and they penetrate deeply in the substrate by rapid solvent evaporation, a porous surface will quickly absorb the dye bringing the color into the matrix. The solvent evaporates very fast, allowing subsequent layers to be applied within a very short time which gives the contractor the distinctive advantage of being able to layer up the colors until achieving the desired depth. Concrete Dyes come in brilliant colors that may be combined to create more shades, these colors are vibrant in nature and stand out from acid stain for their brightness and coloring strength. While Dyes are mostly applied on their own to color concrete, many contractors utilize them to repair acid stained floors. Sometimes the stain does not take on a spot, it wears out, the concrete is damaged or a patch reacts differently than the rest. When this occurs there aren't many choices but to remove the sealer, re-stain and re-seal, these are costly repairs but by using Dyes the contractor can save a lot of time and money and make an easy repair. Many of them have learned to blend Dyes to match the color of stain they use almost perfectly. When they need to touch up an area, they simply spray some Dye over the affected spot then reseal. If done correctly, it would take an expert to determine which areas were repaired. Another great way to take advantage of Dyes is when sealers turn white because of moisture, instead of removing the sealer and re doing the job it is quite possible to touch it up with Dyes and make it look great. This requires some skill mixing the colors and in the application of the Dye but i've seen it done time and time again with great success. And last but not least, Concrete Dyes work great to color polished concrete, many polishing contractors are turning to Dyes because they deliver. We ourselves did several tests and the results were fantastic, and we believe they work better than any other coloring system for polished concrete. To find out more about Dyes or ask questions about them please visit the Decorative Concrete Forums. Microtops are the number one new friend of overlay contractors specialized on interior work, they are easy to use, provide a very smooth finish that rivals self levelers and readily take acid stains and dyes. For a long time the only way to get a smooth finish from an overlay was to use a self-leveler, though they are named "self-levelers" they are nothing but. They require great skill and knowledge to get them to spread properly, there are lot of issues with the finish, some don't take stain well or not at all and the casual user will find that they are not as easy to apply as the name suggests. Overlays were never designed to be smooth, as formulations were centered toward spray and stamped textures which require a certain amount of grit and larger sand sizes. Most systems couldn't be troweled smooth (they left trowel marks or created bubbles and blisters all over the place) and the results were not close to a self leveler finish. Technology has greatly advanced and new tools are available now that allow the contractor to apply a Microtop and get a super smooth finish that can be stained, scored or dyed. Now, when the contractor finds an unsightly floor full of holes, pitted and impossible to stain, he can simply resurface the area with a Microtop and easily create a brand new canvas for his art work. For more information or questions about Microtops please visit the Decorative Concrete Forums.   Art Pinto Decosup Inc.   Copyright © 2006 Decosup Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be reproduced without the express consent or permission from Decosup Inc. | Home | Products Page | Decorative Concrete Gallery | Training | Technical Data | About us