USIGONG 200 g 4 Packs of Iron Oxide Powder, Concrete Pigment, Cement, Mortar, Black Powder | Yellow red Blue 50g of Each Color Multicolor

What you get and how it arrives

I tested the USIGONG iron oxide pigment set, a four-pack of 50 g bags in red, yellow, black, and blue. The format is simple: loose powder pigments, matte and opaque, designed to be mixed into a binder (cement, plaster, lime, clay, paint, etc.) rather than applied straight. These are insoluble mineral pigments, so they stay suspended in the medium and don’t bleed. That’s the right chemistry for masonry and traditional paints.

Packaging is basic. My set came in lightweight bags without robust labeling, so I had to mark them myself once opened. The powders are very fine and dusty. If you’re used to artist pigments or cement colorants, this won’t surprise you, but you’ll want a mask and gloves. Expect some color transfer on surfaces and keep a damp cloth at hand.

At 50 g per color, this is a sampler scale—great for testing, tinting small batches, and color matching, but not a bulk solution for large pours or broad walls.

Color character and tinting strength

• Red: The standout of the set for cementitious work. It tints reliably, ranging from salmon to brick depending on dosage and the base.
• Yellow: Warmer and more earthy than lemon. In lime or white plaster, it reads ochre; in grey cement it shifts toward mustard.
• Black: Strong and consistent. A little goes a long way to mute or darken mixes, and it produces a solid charcoal tone in most binders.
• Blue: The outlier. While it looks vibrant as a dry powder, it struggled in high-alkaline environments (cement, lime) and dulled significantly. In low-alkaline binders (acrylics, casein), it behaved better.

All four are matte and opaque. Don’t expect translucency or glaze-like depth; these are covering pigments.

Concrete, cement, and mortar: use, limits, and results

I trialed the pigments in small cement mixes and a couple of mortar repair batches. Process matters more than you might expect:

• Dosage: For consistent results in concrete, think in percentages by weight of cement, not total mix. I had good control between 1% and 5% pigment of the cement weight. Above that, you get diminishing returns and risk weakening the mix.
• Dispersion: Dry-blend pigment thoroughly into the cement before adding water. Poor dispersion creates streaks and speckling.
• Base color: Grey cement mutes color; white cement brightens dramatically. My red on white cement approached terra-cotta; the same dosage in grey looked brick-brown.
• Curing and finishing: The cured surface ended a shade lighter than wet. A matte sealer deepens the appearance and improves uniformity.

Performance-wise, red, yellow, and black worked as expected. Blue underperformed in cement and lime—hue loss and a muddy cast. That’s typical of some blue pigments under high pH; if you need true blue concrete, look for an alkali-stable mixed metal oxide specifically rated for cement. This blue is fine for craft cement effects, but I wouldn’t count on it for structural color work or large decorative pours.

If you plan bigger jobs—pavers, countertops, or slabs—200 g total pigment is not economical. You’ll burn through it fast. This set is better positioned as a color-matching kit or for accent elements, tile inlays, and small patch work.

Plaster, lime, and stucco

In gypsum plaster, the pigments mixed smoothly and produced soft, workable tones. Expect the base to influence the final tint—grey plaster will mute everything. Red and yellow gave pleasing earthy washes when extended with additional filler and binder, and black offered a predictable charcoal.

With lime putty and limewash, red/yellow/black remained stable for me, especially over a mineral substrate. Blue again was the weak link, desaturating in the alkaline lime. For decorative stucco mixes on white base, the set produced classic, matte mineral finishes that took a burnish nicely.

Tips:
- Pre-wet the pigment with a little water to form a paste before adding to the mix; it reduces dusting and clumping.
- Always make a labeled drawdown or swatch on your actual substrate; lime and plaster alkalinity plus substrate porosity change the read.

Paints and coatings

These powders shine in traditional, low-sheen coatings:
- Casein/milk paint and chalk-style finishes: Excellent. The matte opacity of iron oxides is a feature, not a bug. I achieved reliable earthy palettes and a dead-flat finish. Add a drop of surfactant if you see any floating or foaming.
- Acrylic: They disperse with a bit of effort. I used a small amount of acrylic medium to wet the pigment before thinning. Coverage was good; blue stayed truer here than in cement but still reads less saturated than a synthetic organic blue.
- Limewash: Classic results with red, yellow, black.

If you’re chasing glossy or saturated, modern hues, this isn’t the right family of pigments. If you want soft, mineral, lightfast color, they behave predictably.

Cosmetics caveat

The milling feels fine, and iron oxides are commonly used in cosmetics. I did a small test to tint a zinc oxide sunscreen and got a stable, natural tone with red/yellow/black blends. That said, only use pigments in personal care if they’re explicitly cosmetic-grade and you have documentation (INCI, safety data). Patch test and proceed cautiously. The packaging here doesn’t scream “lab-certified,” so I’d reserve them for crafts unless you’ve verified suitability with the supplier.

Ceramics and high heat

As raw powder in clay or as a “stain” without a glaze system, the colors do not survive kiln firing in the way they appear in the bag. Fired iron oxides shift to browns/tans/blacks depending on atmosphere and temperature; blue is not an iron oxide effect and didn’t hold up in my tests. If you need stable, specific colors in ceramics, use ceramic stains designed for high heat and the chosen firing range.

Handling, storage, and cleanup

• Wear a dust mask and gloves; these are very fine powders.
• Label the bags or transfer to jars with color names and batch notes.
• Clean with a damp cloth first; dry wiping just redistributes dust.
• Keep them sealed; they can absorb moisture and clump over time.

Value and who it’s for

As a compact, four-color sampler, the value is in exploration and small-batch precision:
- Pros: Useful for color studies, patch work, tinting small plaster or limewash batches, making chalk/milk paint, and creating earthy palettes. Red/yellow/black offer reliable, lightfast mineral tones across masonry and paint binders.
- Cons: The blue is not reliable in alkaline systems. The packaging is bare-bones. The quantity is modest for concrete work—fine for test tiles and accents, inefficient for larger pours.

If you need pounds of a single hue for a patio or countertop, buy bulk, alkali-stable pigments matched to cement. If you want to dial in a stone repair, tint a plaster patch, or craft a matte mineral finish, this set is a handy, low-commitment way to get there.

Practical mixing guidelines

• Start low: 1% pigment by cement weight (or 2–5% in paints by binder weight), then adjust.
• For cement: Dry-blend pigment into cement thoroughly before adding water. Use white cement for brighter results.
• For paints: Wet the pigment with a small amount of binder/medium first to make a smooth paste.
• Swatch everything on the real substrate; dry-down shifts and base color matter.
• Seal masonry pieces to even out the appearance and deepen color.

Bottom line

The USIGONG pigment set behaves like a straightforward, no-frills mineral kit. Red, yellow, and black delivered dependable, matte color across plaster, lime, and paint, and were serviceable in cement provided I respected dosage and base color. Blue lagged behind in alkaline environments and isn’t appropriate for kiln work. The packaging could be better labeled, and the size is geared to samples and small jobs, not full-scale concrete.

Recommendation: I recommend this set for small-scale, mineral-finish projects—plaster and lime tints, chalk/milk paints, mortar touch-ups, and general color testing—especially if you value matte, earthy tones and don’t need bright blue in cement. I wouldn’t recommend it for large concrete pours or any high-heat ceramic application, and I’d verify documentation before using it in cosmetics.