# Sakrete cement color



## Brett99 (Dec 26, 2011)

Hi guys,

Trying to design a 3D background using stryofoam and drylok. I couldnt find the quikrete liquid cement color, I could only find this stuff at my local home depot. Sakrete cement color (its a powder). Will this be safe?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/SAKRETE-5-lb-Brown-Cement-Color-200077122/100598870#.UVH2zFripZ8


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## theboothsociety (Jan 3, 2012)

Yeah, thats all they have available in the stores. *** been trying to figure out if there is much of a difference. Im about to try using the same stuff. I read somewhere it can affect the drying time. When mixing, im going to try it on a sample piece first and only use a little powder when mixing with the drylock.


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## Brett99 (Dec 26, 2011)

Its made of calcium carbonate (60-100%) which is definitely safe and iron (III) oxide which is inert, as well as pigments. I think its ok, havent read of too many people that have used it though.


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## theboothsociety (Jan 3, 2012)

after doing more research, i found a thread saying the powder stuff is very thick. to the point where it was too thick and covered up all the detail he put into carving out the styrofoam. Idk, i might try n get the liquid stuff. Im sure its fish safe, just might be a pain to work with and apply it.


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## Brett99 (Dec 26, 2011)

Ok thanks, I might try a little bit on a piece. See if I can avoid painting on sludge. Otherwise ordering the good stuff online


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## theboothsociety (Jan 3, 2012)

i picked up the liquid stuff at Lowe's, found it near the concrete.


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## k7gixxerguy (Jan 12, 2012)

Used the powder on mine, its only very thick if you try to make a super saturated color like pure black. Feel free to check out mine here and comment likes, dislikes, thoughts, etc. I wanted to use more sandy tones as I hate the huge contrast between pfs and some of the more grey backgrounds. Also I know that the darker the background is the better most fish colors tend to appear, hence why the background is darker than the rocks that I bought. I figure with a little bit of algae growth it will all transition very nicely while giving the fish that pop in their color.
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=255309&start=15


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## Brett99 (Dec 26, 2011)

Nice. Thanks. I'm going to try today, Im going to see if it will be better if I added the sacrete to water first or directly to the drylock. pics to follow


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## Brett99 (Dec 26, 2011)

So I decided to go ahead and try out the sakrete. It wasnt that bad. The drylok did thickent a tiny bit but not too bad. I went very close to pitch black as well. I attached some pics, A work in progress. I tried shading with some lighter colors, the drying time was very fast (3 or so hours between coats).


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