Individual color tiles from H&C help clients make smart choices.

Color can be one of the most exciting elements of a decorative concrete project. Yet it can also be one of the most difficult decisions in the entire process for you and your customers.

Creating color mockups on the substrate you're going to stain or dye is the gold standard for demonstrating final results. But creating a mockup for each color under consideration consumes not only time but a fair amount of budget. That's why it's best to help a customer get as close to a final color choice as possible before developing mockups.

Narrowing the options

Start with standard, printed color swatches to identify a broad color set, such as reds or blues. Then get even more specific by zeroing in on just a few colors that appeal to your customer and look best in their environment.

Wolfgang Herzog of Etched-In-Stone Designs in Sanford, Fla., finds the H&C® Hard Sample Box Series from Sherwin-Williams an efficient tool in this process. "The hard sample kit helps to take a customer's temperature, get a closer idea of where they're heading and set expectations for the actual mockups," Wolfgang says. He uses the acetone dye stain hard samples to take color discussion to the next level. "The hard samples improve on small color charts printed on paper," he says.

The sets of 2" x 2" hard samples demonstrate individual colors on a surface that's large enough to position on a floor and view in actual lighting conditions. Gary Myddleton of Creative Concrete Designz in Tallahassee, Fla., has used the boxed samples for about a year. "I use them to get into a color family — so we can choose, for instance, three shades of beige, from light to medium to dark. Once we make that decision then I use only those colors to create a sample mockup on the customer's actual floor."

In addition to samples for acetone dye stain colors, you can access complete boxed sets of hard samples for all H&C decorative concrete colors in semi-transparent decorative stains, infusion acid stains and concrete resurfacer color packs.

"Each color sample includes a listing of the decorative color system used to create that particular sample on the flip side," says Antonietta Trunzo, associate product manager for H&C Decorative Concrete Products at Sherwin-Williams. "Contractors instantly have all the details for creating that look with a one-stop system of H&C products. It's super-convenient."

Enhance your color discussions. See how easy it is to talk with clients and make more efficient upfront color decisions when you use H&C Hard Samples. Consult your H&C sales rep or a salesperson at your local Sherwin-Williams store. Find the most convenient location with our store locator.