Coloring pigments in concrete

Remedies for fluctuations in raw materials
and concrete recipes?

Fig. 1 LAB color space [source: Datacolor]

Fig. 2 Saturation curve of Bayferrox 330® [source: Lanxess Deutschland GmbH]

Graphic 1/Grafik 1

● The customer places high demands on the product
concrete. One of these is without doubt the look of the
concrete surface. The expectations placed on colored concrete or fair-faced concrete surfaces are especially high. Solutions for all technically possible parameters and for prevention of avoidable mistakes have long since been implemented by most concrete manufacturers. But market requirements, customer wishes, and tender texts nevertheless continue not to correlate with actual product qualities. Why is that so?

The consumer clearly distinguishes between the requirements on synthetic surfaces, on the one hand, and natural surfaces on the other hand: Strongly influenced by the modern design of elegant automobiles, ceramics, furniture, synthetic, and metal surfaces, many consumers expect absolute homogeneity and precision. Of natural surfaces – such as, for example, natural stone – the opposite is expected: every stone must be one of a kind! The consumer, unfortunately associates concrete surfaces with synthetic materials, not taking into account the fact that concrete is made of natural raw materials.

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