Best floor prep for dyes or water based stain

My husband and I recently purchased a home and would like to stain/dye the concrete floors instead of putting in "traditional" flooring. The concrete slab is approx 30 years old and definately shows some wear and tear. We have pulled the concrete/tile/linoleum out and of course are left with mastic and adhesive covering the floor. I am pretty sure the solution we are going to go with for this part of the product is radon seal's lightening solution (opinions welcomed). However the real problems are the hairlines cracks we have in the concrete and the holes/pitting from the tack strips. Is my only solution for these issues to put on a micro topping product? We are pretty good with diy projects but I think micro topping might be beyond our skill level and we really don't have the budget to hire some. Are there any other solutions that anyone has tried? I really appreciate your advice. Thank you.