Yes, it carries liquid into the batch — and no, there is no published figure for how much water that is worth. Direct Colors publishes no water-equivalence value for this line, and that is stated rather than left to inference. Here is what follows from it, and how to get a number for your own mix.
Why there is no universal figure
A paste dose is pounds of paste, not pounds of pigment. Paste is part pigment and part carrier, so some of what you weigh in is liquid. But no solids content is published for the line, so the split between the two cannot be calculated from the dose — and the seven colors differ from each other anyway, in density by roughly a factor of two.
When it actually matters
For most work, not much — the doses are small against the cement. At the standard ladder’s first step you are adding 1 lb of paste to a 94 lb sack of cement. It starts to matter where the mix design controls water closely: a specified water-cement ratio, a tight slump window, precast, or anything where the concrete is engineered rather than ordered.
How to find the number for your mix
- Batch a control without pigment, at your normal water and slump. Record the water added and the slump achieved.
- Batch the same design with the pigment at your intended dose, and bring it to the same slump.
- The difference in water added is your answer, for that color, at that dose, in that mix. It is not transferable to another color or another dose.
- Cast a panel from each and check the color as well as the slump — see how to make and approve a test panel.
What not to do about it
- Do not add water after batching to compensate. Water added after batching lightens and washes out the color, and the effect is not recoverable.
- Do not dilute the paste to make it easier to handle. That changes both the dose and the water.
- Do not assume it is negligible on a controlled mix without checking, and do not assume it is significant on a garden path.
- Hold a consistent water-cement ratio and a 4–6 inch slump across the job. Water is the largest single cause of batch-to-batch color variation, whether or not pigment is involved.
Where a mix design has to be signed off, call 405-275-6657 with the design and the dose before the trial batch rather than after it.
Common questions
Does liquid concrete pigment add water to the mix?
It adds liquid, because paste is part pigment and part carrier. How much water that is worth is not published, because no solids content is published for the line and the seven colors differ from one another. Where the mix design controls water closely, allow for it and confirm it on a trial batch.
What is the water-equivalence figure for ColorBlast Pro?
There isn't one published. Direct Colors states no water-equivalence value for this line, and it is listed as an open item rather than quietly omitted. A single universal number would not be honest across seven products at four dose steps.
How do I work it out for my own mix?
Batch a control without pigment at your normal water and slump and record both. Batch the same design with the pigment at your intended dose and bring it to the same slump. The difference in water added is your figure for that color, at that dose, in that mix — and it does not transfer to another.
Can I just add a bit less water to compensate?
Only as part of a trial batch you then measure. What you must not do is add water after batching to correct anything, because that lightens and washes out the color and the effect is not recoverable.
Does this matter on a small DIY pour?
Rarely. The doses are small against the cement — a pound of paste to a 94 lb sack at the first step. It matters where the mix is engineered rather than ordered: a specified water-cement ratio, a tight slump window, or precast work.
What’s Next
- Mixing it → How to Use Liquid Concrete Pigment
- Quantities → How Much Liquid Concrete Pigment
- Weight not volume → Weight or Volume?
- Production batching → Weighing vs Pumping
- Prove it on a panel → How to Make and Approve a Test Panel
Direct Colors. Shawnee, OK. Manufacturing the full decorative concrete system since 1997.
