Discolored concrete or tinted sealer

I just want to get some opinions on what you guys would recommend for this driveway. I think I’m going to pass on the job but would like to know. She hired another local company to seal it about 5 years ago and said the striping has been there since day one. I feel it should be stripped and resealed but I’m not sure that some of the discoloration isn’t the concrete itself. ![image|666x500](upload://bFSj3tz4PDL9G9KQu3ZAWwaP337(upload://weEfoEUMuOcRv9hif5Y2zBLpsmL.jpeg)

I honestly don’t know how that photo got in there. @squidskc can you delete it for me.
Edit: I think I got rid of it :sweat_smile: sweating bullets over here.

Do a test spot in a really bad area . You can get a quart of dads east strip at ace hardware for not much. We always test failed sealer if there’s ever a concern.

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So I’m not seeing what y’all are. It just looks like mildew and a bad surface cleaner job to me. What am I missing and what would happen if you just cleaned it like normal?

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I can see how in the pictures it might look like surface cleaner stripes. But the stripes are the sealer from where it was rolled on. The Black is mildew yes.

It can be both . I can be sealer failing on top of a poorly cleaned driveway. It’s pretty easy to test it and know for sure in just a few minutes

The mildew cleaned right off on top with sh. I was just trying to get input on the coloration. The orange tint. I’ve seen plenty of orange colored concrete but the way it seems to match the stripes from the sealer and is very inconsistent. She doesn’t know if they used a tinted sealer or if the concrete was that color before she had it cleaned since she had it done as soon as she moved in. It’s the only driveway in the subdivision that has this color on the driveway so I’m leaning towards a tinted sealer and just didn’t want to strip off a small portion of the color and leave her with it if she didn’t want to do the job.

That’s understandable plus most people pass when they see the cost to strip it.

If it’s driveway sealer that stuff is pretty much toast already. If you have hot water, hit it with pretty strong pre-treat and that alone will probably finish off the sealer. Then clean it with medium hot water, like 150

The spot you treated already should be good. Most driveway sealers rarely last much more than a 2-3 years and a strong bleach mixture will finish it off.

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I do have hot water. I’ll give that a shot and let you know. She wants to wait a little while to do anything but I will report back.

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I have never seen mark’s left by roller during sealer application look anything like images above. I have sealed and coated a few meters of concrete in my time. My first thought when I looked was that someone did a substandard clean and sealed surface regardless and/or possibly did a poor job working sealer into pores of concrete which if left open retain contaminants. Also some sealers will definitely yellow with age.
And concrete around here can be different shades of grey job to job depending on where the batch plant sources its materials from.

I know that when they sealed it it was midday late June. Im thinking the concrete was to hot and the sealer didn’t have enough time to penetrate before drying. In person it’s very obvious it’s 9” roller marks and not surface cleaner striping.

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That’s a shame , its hard to fix from this point on until coating breaks down totally or is stripped.
Rolling hot concrete is a big problem.

Keep in mind we seal year round here in FL . How hot a driveway is has never had any effect on end results

Man… sorry I missed it. Lol. If it’s something crazy text me so I can at least see it before I quickly delete it.

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Somehow I got it to disappear without showing up as an edit lol I hate how it only shows code until it posts. Slightly inappropriate Bill Cosby Meme. God must have done me a favor on this one.

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Text me anyway. Lol

Sealing takes place all year round here too, we try to knock it out before the sun heats up the surface- application is easier and finish is better.
Not so crucial in the first coat which we thin out to aid penetration but final coats are much better applied to a cool surface imo
But if u can seal hot concrete without any dramas then that’s great actually I’m interested to know how u apply and what coatings u guys use ?

Water base and solvent based sealers. First coat on virgin pavers is 2to1 or 3to1 depending on the brand of sealer and surface being sealed. Second and if needed third coat is usually 50/50