Colored concrete discoloration

I believe my house wash and surface cleaner caused the sealant to come off of the painted concrete. Ideas? Solutions?

Can happen, especially with cheap sealers, but from pics, that’s pretty random looking. Usually, just kind of blotchy looking all over when that happens.

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Is it the sealer that has failed, and turned to white, or is the pigment of the concrete lighter. Can this be fixed by resealing or will it require a repaint?

The first pic looks like efflorescence.

The second pic looks like it was worn or chipped away.

Two questions.

  1. How moldy and dirty was was surface prior to cleaning it.

  2. Was there metal furniture in the area of the sec pic prior to cleaning.

I have a feeling both these discrepancies were already there prior to your service.

I agree with @KMP. Looks like something could have be sitting there for awhile and then got moved.

John, do you have any pics not so close so we can see bigger area?

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That is stamped concrete, it’s not painted. After being pored and finished. A powder tint/color is applied by hand or broadcast over the surface of the concrete before it has fully cured. The tint gives color and also acts as a release agent that keeps the rubber stamps from sticking to the wet concrete. The sealer is applied a day later and is usually the cheapest sealer the concrete contractor can find.

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No metal furniture, just wooden furniture and some pots. The area was moderately dirty. Since it is 500 sq ft I used the surface cleaner. And downstreamed my house wash.

@gbattle any options to repair the white oblong marks left on the tinted concrete?

Also I blame a leaky quick connect for the trail of white marks. Must have leaked my house wash mix.

Husband told me today not to worry about it. Which is a blessing. But I feel terrible about negatively affecting their patio.

Im really not sure what your even talking about.

House wash mix dripping from your quick connect will not leave marks like that.

Also, a surface cleaner would not make marks like that.

If you used too much pressure on lets say oxidized manufactured pavers.

You would see swirl marks where you took a layer off, not what your showing.

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Are any of those pics AFTER you’ve cleaned it? Looks like a before shot?

I’ve seen stuff like that quite a lot, it’s either worn off stencilling from high traffic, dragging something or some previous spill.

In fact, I’ve cleaned high traffic/friction areas and then been told I’ve made a “bald spot”. When an area is black/moldy, it’s a uniform color - when you clean it, it can leave white patches which just weren’t noticeable prior to cleaning (but were already there of course)

I always take before shots of anything potentially dubious as part of my quote.

I get you want to be sure, so if you want closure - make some house mix, arrange to go back and pour it somewhere inconspicuous - I guarantee it won’t replicate those marks.

No, not with out being able to see it in person.

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