I have a floor that is cement that I have grinded down to as smooth a surface as possible. What I would like to do now is stain it and polish it that that it needs no care beside the normal washing from time to time.

Here are my questions:

1. Can I use just normal wood stain since the floor is not sealed and all I really want is a nice faded look to the concrete (fyi – the floor is away from the weather). Or should I be using something else?

2. Can I than after staining it polish it using a floor polisher with sandpaper of different grades?

3. Or should I just use something like polyurethane or the like to add a shine?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

EP