My concrete statuary that has the "aged, greenish, black gunk" and weathered look sit in moist, shady areas. The ones in direct sun stay pretty much pristine except will eventually darken a little but take many years. The buttermilk or beer recipes never worked for me, unless I was too impatient.

I've never seen a piece of concrete stained, so can't comment on that. Have seen some painted ones that are hideous. If I paint, I use a wash of acrylic paint.

I never followed through with my experiment of burying some in the ground for a period of time, but I think this may work. After all, concrete is somewhat porous; and wouldn't it absorb the moisture and minerals surrounding it if buried? Then it may crumble to bits afterwards, too.

I have just the thing to solve your problem. I had a bird bath,that when new was light bright concrete. I wanted it to look like it was getting Moss covered. Just get some yellowish green(Chartreuse) acrylic paint and some Olive Green acrylic paint, so you can mix to get various shades of green. Dilute the paint with water until it is very liquid. I put mine into an old windex bottle. Then spray the item you want to age from about 2 feet away. the liquid will drip down the side. concrete being porous will soak up the stain. I went back and did several layers with various mixtures. You should start with a very dilute mixture so it light to start with, then add a little more paint to darker the areas you desire. Mine have stayed aged looking for 8 years now. You can also use a sea sponge to dab on the color in spots so it looks like moss starting to grow. You could also use some brownish shades if you want.

Hi fernzilla, I received a message in my junk mail folder - it was someone from GW - you. ha. Thanks. I pretty much paint with diluted colors also. I think it works well for me,too. Never tried the spray bottle, but that's an idea. I've used rags, dry and wet to apply color straight from the tube of paint. I like the effect. Too bad we have to wait awhile for Spring and Summer to come back. Stay warm where ever you are.

It would be great if you could post you photos here, so everyone could enjoy. Are you able to do that?

Gosh, I THOUGHT I'd posted and thanked everyone for their input here and I didn't. I am SO sorry. I didn't link this post to my e-mail, which was part of the problem. My fault!

Frankly, I've not done anything yet. I plan to tackle my statues in the spring and I may try a wash of acrylic paint as suggested.

While I don't have a digital camera, when I do it, I'll take photos and post them.

Thank you for your help!!!!