With concrete stain or acid stain, your yard or interior will appear new. However, that new appearance will not last long if a few potential minor problems are not addressed prior to the application of the concrete stain or acid stain If there is not enough cement paste included into a mix, then the integral color for a decorative concrete overlay won’t be properly restrained within the paste. This can result in low strength of color from the surface. With higher levels of relative humidity, a chemical stain will react differently based on each slab. If your decorative treatments do not have good moisture vapor transmission properties then the treatments can peel away the surface, blisters can develop, the surface can blemish, or turn a cloudy white color. If more calcium hydroxide appears on the surface due to excessive bleed water or long initial set times, then it will react with the carbon dioxide which is in the air and form efflorescence. The silica located in the aggregates causes more laitance to appear on the surface. This will result in hard white silicates forming on the surface of your concrete. It will also cause your slab finishes to appear wet. With colder weather, the concrete is generally covered with plastic or curing blankets which will also cause efflorescence markings. If the weather is quite hot, then the amount of time needed to perform additional steps for decorative finishes will be lessened, possibly resulting in stamped concrete which appears “mushy” near the beginning of the process, and too light without enough texture at the end.