Getting the Right Color: Liquid vs. Dry for Your Volumetric Concrete Truck

Getting the Right Color: Liquid vs. Dry for Your Volumetric Concrete Truck

Colored concrete creates opportunities for specialized projects and higher profits. It elevates the look of driveways, pool decks, and decorative borders, turning them into premium finishes. You can add color with volumetric trucks using liquid or dry systems. Knowing the differences ensures you select the best method for your needs.

The Value of Colored Concrete

Colored concrete lets you offer more to your customers and earn more on each job. Specialty work, like custom driveways or colored retaining walls, can be a big profit driver. The extra cost for the customer is small, but the potential profit for you is significant.

Liquid Color: Consistent and Accurate

Liquid color is known for its reliability and precision. Here’s what makes it a good choice:

Consistent Color Across Loads: For large projects, like big pool decks, you need the color to match perfectly. Liquid color ensures that, even if you’re using multiple trucks.
Ideal for Multi-Color Jobs: If you handle a lot of decorative or pool work with different colors, liquid color delivers the consistency you need.

Color Change: Changing colors with liquid color requires a 10-minute flush, which includes draining residual color back into the storage container and rinsing the system.

Easy Switch to Standard Concrete: You can turn off the liquid color and pour regular concrete without any hassle.

Dry Color: Flexible and Available

Dry color offers speed and flexibility, especially for quick color changes. Here’s why it might be right for you:

Great for Utility Work: Dry color is perfect for marking utility lines with colored concrete.
Easier to Find: Dry color is often more readily available, which is helpful during supply shortages.
Fast Color Changes: Switching colors is quick. You just run out the remaining powder and run some sand through the system
Quick Return to Standard Concrete: Just like liquid, you can turn off the dry color and pour standard concrete.

Which One is Right for You?

If you do a lot of decorative work where color accuracy is key, liquid color is your best bet.
If you need to change colors quickly and do a lot of utility work, dry color might be better.

The Bottom Line

Adding color to concrete is a great way to expand your business. Volumetric trucks make it easy, and you can choose between liquid and dry color depending on your needs. It’s a way to get into the specialty concrete market and increase profits.

To integrate color into your concrete operations, a four-section hydraulic pump is required. Please contact your Cemen Tech representative to determine if this is a retrofittable option for your current C60 mixers.