It’s come to the point with my business I’m leaving too much money behind because about 80% of customers want that ‘gloss’ look top coat sealer on their driveways.
I’ve been using the v-seal 101/102 which is super easy to apply but people aren’t satisfied they can’t see a ‘difference’ after forking over $200/5gal.
Please, if any of you guys know of some sort of legitimate course or class I can take to learn how to do a GOOD topcoat job, and what professional equipment is needed, I would appreciate it. I see a lot of bad coating jobs here and trying to avoid making the same mistakes.
Aren’t you in Kentucky? Check out Surfkoat. They’re in Tennessee and they have a way array of products and do free 2 day training classes at their facility.
Check out SurfKoat like @mwpws said. The rep I have is super nice and helpful.
I would say that using surface sealers isn’t hard but I see enough driveways and redo enough that apparently it can be challenging for some. Some of it’s like painting a wall–don’t glop it on, smooth it out, not too much, not too little.
I’ve learned enough to know that various areas do things differently, but at least here in St. Louis, the vast, vast majority of surface sealers are solvent-based. In fact, I’ve never seen any in the big box stores nor have I seen them at the place I buy SurfKoat.
Why is that important? Because if you’re sealing a driveway that’s already been sealed, you need to know what was already on there or you can end up in a big mess. And it’s not like decks where acrylic can go on top of oil but not vice versa. You pretty much have to stick with what’s already on there or strip it off.
Depending on how you’re applying V Seal, it can’t be applied near as quick so factor that into your quotes.
Alright I contacted our local concrete supply company, they suggested Vocomp 20 which is water based and can be used with a sprayer. I have a few sealing jobs lined up now, my customers are excited about me using this!
If you’re asking me, not yet. We’ve had nothing but tornadoes and heavy rain, I’m hoping to try it in a week or so.
I did have a talk with my supplier, he said the Vocomp will not dissolve the old acrylic sealer and will show ‘darker spots’ where it overlaps the less sun damaged stuff. I’m not prepared to use the solvent based roll-on stuff.
Vocomp 20 sucks. It soaks in like Vseal and has a very slight sheen to it but other than that, I don’t see the point of it. I’d rather just spray VSeal and be done.
I’ve also been using Super Diamond Clear which is a nice top coat, just mandatory to add a traction aid so my elderly customers don’t break a hip. Oh and I found out the hard way to only apply top coat in the LATE AFTERNOON otherwise it bubbles up like popcorn.
Right so be aware that Vseal mainly works best when a top coat acrylic hasn’t been applied in a long time or ever for that matter. To work properly it has to soak into the concrete. If I even see a whisper of old sealer I just tell them they probably want to use another top coat again.
It’s a 3.5 month old driveway. Have you used V-stop WB? It’s a hard time of year to have 3 dry days here, been trying to get ahold of manufacturers tech support to discuss. Curious how it compares in performance and application to the 101.
Speaking of which, I could use a sanity check for my plan. I haven’t seen the concrete yet, but am planning to see it tomorrow. I was informed there are tire marks. I have a lot of groundskeeper leftover, so my plan was to treat the entire 2,000 sqft driveway with groundskeeper and rinse with 500 psi 40 degree #30 nozzle. Can I spot treat the tire marks with various dilution ratios of GK vs doing the whole driveway, or will that result in spotty results? I also have Craig’s surface cleaner psi adjustment Gizmo, so I could use the surface cleaner dialed down to minimal psi. This was a referral from a high end customer. Luckily I told her no pressure for 2 years, her husband was planning on getting at the tire marks with their own pressure washer.
I’ve only used the Euclid stuff as that’s what is available locally. Nice thing about Vseal is being water based you can spray on once the concrete dries, so same day.
You need to be careful with the GK on the new concrete. It can affect the look. On the new concrete that I’m sealing, I tell customers I’ll do my best to remove the tire marks but they might not come up because we’re going to be careful with the pressure. I also tell them the tire marks won’t affect the performance of the sealer.
Thank you for the response, I messaged Craig with my plan of 20:1 to start and he said that’s OK with new concrete, but he would start with DE. Going to start a new thread, this is not a simple new driveway project as I thought on the phone…
