GOODTAKE Concrete Pigment, Black Iron Oxide Pigment Powder, Concrete Cement Dye Color Pigment for Concrete, Cement, Mortar, Grout, Plaster, Tile, Terracotta, Colorant, Paint

Black iron oxide is a staple in my shop, and the GOODTAKE black pigment has proven to be a reliable, predictable option for tinting cementitious mixes and other project media. I tested it across small concrete pavers, grout repairs, plaster samples, and a few epoxy resin pieces to see how it handled mixing, color strength, and long-term stability. Here’s how it fared and how to get the best results from it.

What it is and who it’s for

This is a finely milled black iron oxide powder packaged for small to mid-size craft and construction tasks. If you need consistent, lightfast black in concrete, mortar, grout, plaster, or even certain resin and paint systems, this pigment fits. It’s inorganic and UV-stable, so it’s appropriate for indoor and outdoor use. For large pours (countertops, slabs), the 4 oz size is more of a sample or touch-up quantity; for pavers, stepping stones, planters, tiles, coasters, and decorative castings, it’s squarely in the sweet spot.

Handling and first impressions

The powder is extremely fine—about the consistency of powdered sugar—which is what you want for even dispersion. The bottle is compact and reusable, though the pigment will plume as you open it. Plan to work in a ventilated area, wear a dust mask and gloves, and lay down a sheet to catch any stray powder. It’s not toxic, but it is messy and will blacken anything it touches until you clean up.

Mixing in cement, mortar, and grout

The most important tip: blend pigment into the dry components before you add water. When I mixed the pigment directly into dry cement and sand, I got a uniform, streak‑free color once water was introduced. Adding pigment after water tends to produce specks and swirls that are hard to chase out.

A workable loading range for black is 3–10% by binder weight (cement content), depending on how deep you want the tone. As a practical example:
- A 4 oz (0.25 lb) bottle at 5% loading will tint about 5 lb of cement binder. In a typical 1:2:3 concrete (cement:sand:aggregate) mix, that correlates to roughly 25–30 lb of total concrete. If you’re going for a jet black at 10%, you’ll cover about half that.
- For sanded grout or mortar, where the “binder” portion is a larger percentage of the mix, the same bottle goes further.

The color develops as the mix hydrates. My test pavers looked slightly gray when wet but dried down to a deep, neutral black with good opacity after curing. If you’re experimenting with tone, make a few small test tiles at different pigment loadings and keep notes. A gram scale pays for itself here—eyeballing by volume leads to variation.

Color quality and consistency

I look for three things in a black pigment: neutrality (no warm or green cast), opacity, and repeatability. The GOODTAKE black pigment hits all three. It produces a true, neutral black that reads matte and solid rather than charcoal. Because the powder is so fine, it disperses quickly and evenly; I didn’t run into speckling or streaking when I mixed dry-to-dry first. A little does go a long way—if you overshoot 10% in cement, you can start to see diminishing returns (and, in extreme cases, compromise strength), so there’s no benefit to piling it on past the deep-black point.

Durability and outdoor performance

Iron oxide is a known quantity for exterior work because it’s inherently lightfast. I left a pigmented paver and a plaster swatch in direct sun and rain for a couple weeks. No noticeable chalking or fading, and no color bleed when the surface was wet. If you’re sealing concrete, expect the sealer to change the perceived tone slightly—solvent-based sealers can deepen and slightly enrich the black; matte water-based sealers keep a more natural, flat look. Either way, the underlying pigment stays put.

A note on efflorescence: white mineral deposits can show up on any cement piece and will be more obvious on black. That’s not the pigment’s fault. Use clean aggregates, avoid overwatering, and consider a breathable sealer if efflorescence is a concern.

In resin and paint

For epoxy resin, I had best results pre-wetting the pigment with a small amount of the resin part (or with a bit of the mixed resin) to make a smooth paste before incorporating it. That eliminated micro-clumps and kept the dust down. It produced a beautifully opaque black background for a resin inlay with only a small addition. Cure time and hardness were unaffected at the low percentages I used. In acrylic and latex paints, it tints well, though iron oxide has slightly lower jetness than specialty carbon blacks; the trade-off is better UV stability and less mess during sanding later.

If you want ultra-gloss, note that heavy pigment loads can subtly reduce gloss in clear resin topcoats; keep loads modest and use a gloss-friendly topcoat if the mirror finish matters.

Coverage and batch control

Batch-to-batch consistency is all about weighing. For a small planter run where I wanted repeatable results, I mixed a master dry blend: measured cement, sand, and pigment in a lidded bucket, shook thoroughly, then pulled off portions to hydrate. That made color uniform across pieces without forcing me to remix pigment each time.

Expect the cured color to be a shade or two lighter than it looks while wet. If you’re shooting for “coal black,” test at 7% and 10% and pick the lowest percentage that satisfies your eye; it saves pigment and maintains better cement strength.

Mess, cleanup, and safety

The only real downside is the mess inherent to ultra-fine black powder. It transfers easily. My routine:
- Mask, safety glasses, and nitrile gloves.
- Open the bottle slowly and away from drafts.
- Use a dedicated scoop and weigh on wax paper or a tray.
- Vacuum (not sweep) any dry spills; then wipe with a damp rag.
- Keep a separate “pigment towel” you don’t mind staining.

It’s listed as non-toxic and it’s waterproof once bound in a matrix, but treat it with the same care you would any fine dust.

Packaging and storage

The bottle is reusable and seals well enough to prevent caking. Because the pigment is hygroscopic enough to clump if exposed to humidity, keep the lid tight and store it in a dry cabinet. If you decant to another jar, label the pigment clearly; all black powders look alike on the shelf, but they don’t all behave the same.

Value

For small-format work, value is solid. The tint strength is high, so you can stretch the bottle across multiple coasters, stepping stones, or a decent batch of grout. If you’re coloring larger architectural pieces or want to maintain dark black at 10% in repeated pours, plan on buying larger quantities. The quality is there; the only practical limiter is the size of the container relative to your project scale.

Tips for best results

• Weigh, don’t guess. Start at 3–5% pigment by binder weight; go up toward 10% only if you need a darker tone.
• Mix pigment with dry components before water for cementitious projects.
• For resin, pre-wet the pigment into a paste to prevent clumps and dust.
• Cast test tiles and record ratios; color perception changes from wet to dry.
• Seal exterior pieces to reduce staining and improve washability, especially for high-touch or horizontal surfaces.
• Clean tools promptly; iron oxide will cling if you let it dry on.

The bottom line

GOODTAKE’s black pigment does what I expect from a high-quality iron oxide: strong, neutral black; smooth dispersion; and excellent lightfastness. It’s easy to use once you adopt good mixing habits, and the small bottle goes further than it looks thanks to the pigment’s tint strength. The only caveats are the inherent messiness of such a fine black powder and the fact that 4 oz won’t cover large architectural projects at deep-black loadings.

Recommendation: I recommend this pigment for makers, DIYers, and tradespeople who need consistent, durable black in concrete, mortar, grout, plaster, or small resin and paint batches. It’s reliable, UV-stable, and straightforward to work with if you weigh your mixes and control your process. For large projects, budget for more than one bottle or consider stepping up to a larger package size, but for small to medium jobs, this is an easy yes.