The floor at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Ballon Museum is as interesting as the exhibits!

BACKGROUND: Curators of the Balloon Museum wanted historical references in the entryway, so Faux Real LLC, the Albuquerque-based concrete staining contractors selected for the project, etched an antique world map into a 12' diameter central circle, surrounded by thirteen "fantasy balloon designs" set into wide rays emanating from the circle. The designs were inspired by actual etchings of 18th and 19th Century airship inventions taken from old books.

CHALLENGE: Due to severe time restraints, all 16 of the etched designs on the floor were done by two Faux Real artists in three days, working around fork lifts hanging full-sized balloons from the ceiling. Shown to the left, the design of a 4.5 foot diameter face of an antique altimeter is acid-etched into the concrete floor. Once finished with the staining, some sections of the floor required faux painting to blend the overall design better because the concrete was so damaged by everything from drywall mud and construction dust to oil drips, grease from construction workers' leftover french fries and hi-lift tire tracks. Professional quilt maker-turned acid stained-turned faux painter, Rae Kozai from Faux Real, touched up shallow decorative grooves because the architect, Mark Schiff, wanted more contrast between the grooves and the background colors.

SOLUTION: To stain the floors, Faux Real Floors prefers Pro Patina Stains from Dayton Superior company Symons. In particular, the decorative contractor appreciates the ability to control the color on the floor with the company's Decorative Stain Extender.  After staining the floor and painting the grooves with gray-white artists' acrylics, the entire floor was coated with two light coats of Dayton Superior's Pro Super Seal, as protection. The end result is so spectacular that it is hard to know whether to look at balloons in the air or on the floor!