Creating this post in hopes of having a Paver sealing/restoration category added to the PWR forum.
It’s a topic that has been discussed numerous times previously. I know others in this forum offer this service. I think it would be beneficial to have a category where we can all share tips, tricks, products, etc. to one location.
If anyone else has any comments or thoughts please post,
oh, and Happy New Year!
Happy you started this.
I did some pavers in 2023 but wasn’t thrilled with the result. The polymeric sand was a real PITA to work with
Sanding is definitely easier with a compactor. The push behind ones or even a tamper works but takes longer.
What sand did you use? I only use Gator G2 now and it’s made a world of difference in end results. More expensive but worth it.
I’d have to look, it was some sort of polymeric from Lowes. I did everything I was supposed to do and it still had a white haze on top.
Techni - Sand?
Used once, never will again.
Gatormax G2 is the way.
Pavers need to be absolutely bone dry prior to spreading, or else your gonna have a haze of reacted particles across the patio.
Not sure what you guys have found, but if you are going to be sealing it, I’d give it 3-4 days to fully cure.
Made the mistake of sealing one the day after, and some spots did not completely solidify.
Absolutely, do you offer these services?
I have used a light acid before to knock the haze back. some companies even make a haze chem.
I found that a light coat of Eff-ortless worked great (local chem)
We offer. Have only sealed one and sanded another. I have small mason experience. The sealer we used was provided. Wish to start using a two part sealer. Ever heard of sealthane?
Never heard of it, but also most people around here don’t want glossy/wet look so we stick with V-Seal deep penetrating sealers.
Ill have to remember that! Does it do well over previous sealers? One of the issues we come across is people want us to strip the previous seal. Is that a pretty straight forward solution in your experience? Some recommend a stripper. Some recommend a turbo. Kind of need to figure that out to get more traction on the sealing side.
I doubt it, but don’t have much experience in that regard… the only topical sealer I’ve run into was on a pool deck and the surface cleaner took care of it. Most around here use penetrating because of the freeze/thaw cycles.
I have heard of it being discussed in some of the FB groups. Sounds like good stuff, just make sure to follow application directions thoroughly.
From my experience (about 2 years playing with this stuff), stripping can be tedious depending on what was previously put down.
Oil/Solvent Based Sealer: Very difficult to remove, likely will need potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide based inustrial type stripper, dwell times range from 1 hour to 24 hours with tarping. you will likely be turbo nozzling every square inch to remove.
Water based: Need to be careful depending on the job. If it is old and failing, stripping should be pretty simple, surface cleaner may even take care of it with minor chems.
Before taking on any work, I have learned to make sure I determine what type of sealer is on the surface, what condition it is in, how difficult will it be to remove, and what type of sealer will I be applying.
Simple trick for determining the sealer type (Speaking in terms of topical sealers) is to take some xylene, pour a little in an inconspicous location. If it gums up like an eraser when you rub your finger on it, it is a water based sealer. If it shines up, or wipes off, it is likely oil based.
Xylene can also be used in a 50/50 mix to “rejuvenate” some oil based sealers, such as if the homeowner wants to reapply annually to keep it fresh.
In the Mid-atlantic to Northeast, where I am, Oil based is more common because it tends to hold up to the freeze/thaw cycle much better than water based sealers.
My best advice to anyone wishing to do this work is to find the easy jobs, and do them. Politely decline or double your price for any work that seems to be difficult, because more than likely, if you do it, you’ll be swearing up a storm and making multiple trips out scratching your head, restripping, and figuring out how your going to explain the situation to the customer… Speaking from experience lol.
I’m not interested, but dam that was a nice write up. Thank you.
When discussing exterior concrete sealers, aren’t all water-based sealers penetrating and therefore don’t (or can’t) need to be removed? Since they create a hydrophobic barrier, it’s obviously not advisable to reapply immediately after sealing. However, in a few years, when it’s time to reapply, there’s no need to strip the old sealer since they have penetrated and aren’t topical.
I believe you may have this reversed. Water-based penetrating sealers generally perform better in freeze/thaw cycles. Oil-based sealers create a surface layer that traps moisture. When that trapped moisture freezes, it can lead to fracturing.
There are two types of sealers: penetrating sealers and surface sealers.
Penetrating sealers are almost always water-based.
The vast majority of surface sealers are solvent-based. But they do have surface sealers that are water-based. The water-based surface sealers have come a long but still aren’t very popular.
If the sealing is done right, when it’s time to reapply there’s no need to strip first.
And, believe it or not, you can actually remove the penetrating sealer if needed. (For example, if a customer had you apply a penetrating sealer and then changed their mind and wanted you to put a surface sealer on the concrete.)
That was awesome thank you!! I’ll have to keep all of this in mind. We definitely don’t want to do any stripping. Might leave that to some of the other concrete guys out here and just stay in the sealing lane for now.
