Mortar is usually gray — or white, or buff — and it is usually the wrong color for the brick it is holding together. Coloring it costs pennies and is the difference between brickwork that looks new and brickwork that looks like it has always been there.
Mortar colored with Merlot concrete pigment.
Why bother
Standard mortar frequently clashes with the design it serves. Bright white mortar against dark red brick reads as new and slightly harsh; the same joint colored to a soft heather or ash reads as worn and settled. It is a small change with a disproportionate effect, and on a repair it is what makes new work disappear into old.
Merlot and tan mortar, both colored with concrete pigment.
Mixing
Popular mortar colors
From the gray-based chart, the four that come up most often are Merlot, Wheat Buff, Smokestack and Fire Brick. All of them can be diluted for a subtler accent rather than a full color change — worth doing on a repair, where the aim is to disappear rather than to stand out.
Coloring Mortar: FAQs
Do I mix the pigment into mortar wet or dry?
Dry. Combine the pigment and the mortar in the mixer before adding water — that single step is what determines whether the color comes out even.
How much pigment does a mortar mix need?
Work from the weight of the cement and lime, not the weight of the bag — only those take color. The pigment calculator does the arithmetic once you have that figure.
Which mortar colors are most popular?
From the gray-based chart, Merlot, Wheat Buff, Smokestack and Fire Brick come up most often. All of them can be diluted for a subtler accent rather than a full color change.
Should I test the color before pointing a wall?
Yes. Test a pigment sampler against your actual mortar first. On a repair the aim is for the new work to disappear into the old, and that only happens if you have matched it beforehand.
What's Next
- Grout too → Color Your Grout with Concrete Pigment
- Save on exterior paint → Stucco Colors
- The fundamentals → Integral Color Concrete
- Applying stain outdoors → How to Apply Outdoor Concrete Stain
- Choosing a sealer → The Best Concrete Sealer
- Prefer a reactive, mottled look? → Acid Stain Colors Guide
- Mixing it evenly → How to Mix Concrete Pigment Powder Without Streaks
- Every shade and its dose step → Concrete Pigment Color Chart
- Shop → Concrete Powder Pigment · Pigment Sampler
Direct Colors. Shawnee, OK. Manufacturing the full decorative concrete system since 1997.
