New concrete patio - stain considerations

Hi All....getting ready to have a new concrete patio poured that we want to stain and have a couple of questions:

1. we don't have a general preference between acid or water based. Any opinions on either related to ease of application or longevity?

2. is it better to use a broom finish or a smooth trowel finish?

3. since this will be a new pour, will there be any need for further surface preparation (other than making sure all debris, etc is cleared) before we can apply the stain?

4. how long do we have to wait between the pour and the stain application? is it different for acid vs water?

TIA...

 

Broom finish is for traction, trowel finish gets pretty slick when wet.

Since this is not yet poured, have you thought about having the concrete colored?

 

I'd second using a colored concrete! An acid stain just brings out the different colors naturally in the concrete. I've only seen it used on interior slick finished concrete but have heard of some using it on the exterior. The solid color stain I referred to in another thread comes in both latex and solvent bases.