Concrete pigment colors the concrete itself rather than its surface — you mix the powder into the batch before you pour, so the color runs all the way through. A chipped edge is still the right color, and nothing can wear off. This is the full current range, and the thing to understand first is that the number of shades comes from dosage as much as from pigment.
How to read these charts
Each row starts with a photograph of the raw pigment powder, then shows four cast samples of that same pigment at increasing dose. So 101-1 Evening Shadow and 101-7 Turkey Red are the same pigment — one at a pound per batch, the other at seven. That is why the range is so large without being complicated: 26 base pigments, four doses each, 105 named results.
It also means you can move a color deliberately. If Merlot is close but not deep enough, you do not need a different pigment — you need more of the one you have.
Gray-based pigment chart, pages 1 and 2 — pigments 101 through 114.
Pages 3 and 4 — pigments 115 through 205, including the blues and greens.
How the samples were made
Every sample on these charts was cast using gray Portland cement mixed with Direct Colors powder pigment and sealed with a satin sealer. That matters, because it tells you exactly what the photographs represent and what they do not.
The full range, by family
Twenty-six base pigments, each in four doses. Reds and earth tones run from 101 to 122, blues from 201 to 203, greens at 204, and a gray at 205.
Reds, earths, browns and golds — 101 to 122
- 101 Evening Shadow · Merlot · Fire Brick · Turkey Red
- 102 Weathered Tin · Shadow · Smokestack · Graphite
- 103 Reed Grass · Olive Tree · Bark · Peanut
- 104 Wheat Buff · Briar Buff · Cider · Mandarin
- 105 Frontier Buff · Santa Fe Tan · Canyon Brown · Orange Lily
- 106 San Juan · Uplands · Turmeric · Amber Glow
- 107 Macadamia · Gold · Cognac · Outback
- 108 Sandstone · Persimmon · Yam · Autumn Maple
- 109 Peach Begonia · Safety Orange · Terracotta · Sugar Maple
- 110 Maize · Gamboge · Clementine · Calamondin
- 111 Ramie · Harvest Gold · Antique Oak · Fulvous
- 112 Mocha · Rocky Crag · Spice · Oklahoma
- 113 Cafe Au Lait · Tobacco · Teff · Chestnut
- 114 Beige · Buckwheat · Saddle · Bourbon
- 115 Taupe · Cocoa Brown · Macchiato · Brown Leather
- 116 Milk Chocolate · Deep Bronze · Bole · Espresso
- 117 Desert Rouge · Earthen Red · Mars · Red Bromeliad
- 118 Winterfield Buff · Puma · Arabia · Sable
- 119 Sunray · Tarnished Brass · Marigold · Mustard
- 120 Dawn · Sinopia · Watermelon · Vermilion
- 121 Sundried Tomato · Red Dahlia · Flamingo · Lava
- 122 Barely Lavender · Umber · Antique Rose · Dark Coral
Blues — 201 to 203
- 201 Prairie Blue · Cobalt · Egyptian Blue · Open Sea
- 202 Ice Blue · Steel Blue · Slate Blue · Sapphire
- 203 Ocean Blue · Midnight Blue · Persian Blue · Blueberry
Greens and gray — 204 and 205
- 204 Sea Green · Mint Green · Forest Green · Fern
- 205 Ash
Pigment is sold by the base number in 1, 5, 10, 25 and 55 lb quantities — you choose the dose when you mix. Use the calculator and shade picker to work out how much you need for your pour, or start with a pigment sampler to see the powders in person.
What’s Next
- How to use it → How to Integrally Color Concrete · Pouring Colored Slabs
- Other cement-based products → Stucco · Grout · Mortar
- Cast something with it → DIY Concrete Craft Projects · Pigment Projects
- Why pigmented concrete still fades on top → Stamped Decorative Concrete
- Shop → Concrete Powder Pigment · Shade Picker · Pigment Sampler
