Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Staining hypertuffa garden art

I seek any and all assistance, clues or hints to my questions. Thanks in advance! I just completed the molds for large hypertuffa garden pots. HYPERTUFFA (equal mixtures by volume of white portland cement, vermiculite, and peat moss with a touch of fiberglass fibers for strength)and would like to stain them upon completion in a variety of colors. My questions are: 1)Will the stain degrade the strength of the finished project? 2)Is the color permanent? 3)What are the chemicals and proportions to be used? 4)What colors will they create? 5)Where can I get these chemicals? 6)What questions did I fail to ask to which you have some helpful answers? I live in a small North East Texas town, (no, not everything in Texas is bigger) and products and information are somewhat limited. So this country boy would appreciate your helping him support his retirement. I do appreciate you!

Paul Labbe
designer and welder of metal garden art - Paris, Texas
2007

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See if you can get by using the tint for brick mortar or for concrete. It is available at any store that sells cement. It will last a lot longer than any dye that you might use. The only question is" will it give enough color to overcome the other materials"? It is available in nearly any color you can dream up by mixing tints.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2007