Collection: Stamps

Stamps can either be purchased or rented From Hard Rock Concrete Supplies. Rented stamps are kept in stock on a first come first served basis. We have a reserved rentals board so that stamps can be reserved ahead of time making it a sure thing that they will be in stock when you need them.

Purchased stamps are not kept in stock. They are ordered as needed. Therefore there is a two to three week period of time between ordering and recieving your stamps.

Stamps are rubber mats that are pressed into concrete before it sets. They create a pattern in the concrete. These patterns can be either a stone pattern with grout lines, or a stone texture without grout lines. There are different kinds of stamps.

1. Rigid Stamps - These have grout lines on the stamps. These are only a little flexible. They will need to be fitted together tightly on your concrete to create a unified seamless look. Usually these kinds of stamps are a large bulk of the stamps needed.

2. Flex Stamps - These stamps are more flexible than the rigid stamps, but have the same grout lines and patterns on them. Therefore they will have to be fitted closely as well. Usually only one or two of these flex mats are taken. These mats can be pushed up to walls or forming pins on a stamped surface.

3. Texture Skins - These stamps are very thin and flexible mats. They do not have any grout lines on them; only the stone texture. These come in different sizes from 20" to 52". These mats can be used to fill in small areas that stamps can not manage to stamp because of flexibility. They can also be used to stamp large areas with only a stone texture.

Stamps come in different patterns and must be used with a release. The release agent stops the stamp from sticking to the concrete and pulling the top layer (Cream) of the concrete off. The release can either be a powdered colour release or a liquid clear release. Powdered release will create an antiqueing effect on the concrete surface. Liquid release, because it's clear will not create that same effect.

Antiquing effects can be acheived usung an antiquing agent. We carry Eco-Accent for this prupose.

Stamping of concrete can be acheived on both horizontal and vertical surfaces.

Stamped and coloured concrete

Stamped-coloured concrete can look like almost anything. Want a wood plank look on your concrete? At Hard Rock Concrete Supplies, we have a wide variety of stamps, integral colour, release powders, clear liquid release, Eco-Accent (antiquing agent), and stain to help you attain your specific look.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many stamps will I need to stamp my concrete?

The amount of stamps needed to stamp a concrete pad will depend on the are of concrete being stampd, the shape of the concrete being stamped and the stamp that you are planning on using. The stamps are different sizes per pattern. What you should have is as many stamps as it will take to go across the widest area of the concrete surface plus one extra stamp. This allows you to place the stamps tightly together and complete the row plus the one stamp underneath it in the next row. Then the first stamp placed can be picked up and replaced in the second row and second stamp... and so on.

How long should I wait before sealing my concrete pad?

The concrete should be allowed to fully cure before you seal your pad. That means at lest 28 days. If you require to use your pad before those 28 days is over, you may elect to use a Cure & Seal on the pad. Cure and seals can be used as early as the next day.

Can I integrally colour my concrete and stain it as well?

Yes, you can both integrally colour and stain your concrete. The stain we carry is called Eco-Stain, and it is a penetrating stain. What that means is that the stain will work with the colour of the concrete. If you integrally colour the concrete, then stain on top, you may achieve a different colour than you would if you had not integrally coloured your concrete.

What do I need to know about sealing my pieces?

The sealer that you use will depend on what you want the piece to look like, as well as where the piece is and what it will be used for.

We have sealers that are meant for countertops or tabletops, shower stalls, and walls in the bathroom. These sealers are food-safe. These sealers come in a variety of sheens, from matte to gloss. Some of these sealers are water-based, and some are solvent-based.

Hard Rock also carries sealers that are specifically designed to cover stamped concrete or exposed aggregate. These sealers are solvent-based acrylics. These sealers can be completely penetrating, partially penetrating, or topical. These sealers also come in different sheens, from semi-gloss to high gloss.

Are high-gloss sealers more durable than lower-gloss sealers?

High-gloss sealers have a higher percentage of solids (plastics) than lower-gloss sealers. With that knowledge, you would think that the higher the gloss, the higher the level of protection you will achieve and the longer the sealer will last. Although that seems right, there really is no significant difference in the wear times of the sealers.

What really seems to make a difference is the quality of the sealer. The higher the quality of the sealer and the higher the quality of the plastics used (whether they are acrylic, polyurethane, polyaspartic, or epoxy), the longer the sealer will last. The better the sealer, the longer it will look, and so on.

Are there any differences between high-gloss and semi-gloss sealers other than sheen?

Yes, generally, the shinier the sealer is, the slippier the surface will be when it gets wet or snowy.

There is a non-slip ingredient that you can use to help combat how slippery the concrete will get. There is more than one kind of grit that you can get. At Hard Rock Concrete Supplies, we carry two different non-slips. The first is a non-slip additive.

This comes in a 1lb. container that is used in a 5-gallon pail of sealer. This additive is mixed right into the sealer and then applied. The second kind we carry is called non-slip broadcast. This material comes in a 4lb. container and is too heavy to stay suspended in the sealer.

Instead, this non-slip is either broadcast onto the surface to be sealed and then sealed on top, or sealed and, while the sealer is still wet, broadcast on top. This type is more aggressive than the additive.

The other major difference between lower-gloss sealers and high-gloss sealers is their ability to colour-enhance the concrete. The higher the gloss, the more colour enhancement the sealer will provide the concrete.

What are the differences between water-based sealers and solvent-based sealers?

Water-based sealers have less colour-enhancing ability than solvent-based sealers, but the same properties apply for the sheen; the more sheen, the more colour enhancement the sealer will provide.

For outdoor acrylics, solvent-based sealers will last longer and stay shinier than water-based sealers.

The same is not necessarily true for polyurethanes and epoxies. For these types of sealers, there does not seem to be much difference in the performance of water-based varieties compared to solvent-based varieties.