Join in and write your own page! The cost to Seal a Surface starts at $1.71 - $3.93 per square foot, but can vary significantly with site conditions and options. At higher solids, you need to be very careful to apply the sealer thinly. Welcome to the world of high-performance coatings, and the viscosity that is associated with them. If this does not work, strip down to a point were no roller marks or bubbles appear and start over. When sanding, you have to micro-scratch the surface enough to reduce the surface tension that can prohibit the second coat from adhering to the first coat. Find the perfect concrete calculator to figure cubic yardage (and cubic meters) for any type of concrete project. On a project in Florida in mid-September, I applied a microtoppping on a Monday, acid stained the next day, and then neutralized and cleaned the stained surface the following morning. These white spots are actually more gray, and they don't have the look of efflorescence. A 1/4-inch-thick layer of resin remained at the bottom of the first pail, indicating that it wasn't thoroughly mixed prior to application. If this does not work, you will probably need to strip off some or all of the sealer. If switching to harder tires is not in the cards, then consider using a different type of sealer. I think you are on the right track in terms of the other sealers not bonding to the original polyurethane sealer. Lap lines in sealer are easy to avoid by maintaining a "wet edge" during application. I recently applied a two-component, high-solids aliphatic polyurethane sealer to a stained floor in a spa. Over the years, the sealer has become more and more cloudy. After too many reapplications of sealer, there comes a time when the coating can no longer breathe. Thin coats of materials will give any trapped air or gas a better chance to migrate to the surface and escape. Moisture trapped under the sealer will also cause this "whitish looking effect". Sealer needs to be applied in dry conditions because it won't adhere to damp concrete. Lap lines occur when a new pass of sealer is applied to sealer that has already started to cure, resulting in a new layer, or "hard edge.". This process usually removes the excess offending secondary color as well. is causing sealer discoloration. Need professional help with your sealer problems? If the solvent evaporates too fast, the sticky, soft resin is pulled into strands by the roller. How? Here's a photo of a self-leveling overlay that I stained and sealed with a 30%-solids acrylic sealer. Typically the solvent re-liquefies the previous layer of sealer and no additional working of the coating is needed. It may take multiple attempts to get it all off, depending on how many layers of sealer are on the slab. If you drive slowly, the mud comes off the tire evenly. Siloxa-Tek 8500 is a revolutionary concrete … I mixed a new batch and proceeded to finish rolling the rest of the floor but at a much faster pace, and I seemed to have no problem. After the sealer dried, the floor appeared blotchy, with some areas glossy and others not. You would have to hire a contractor who has this equipment and has successfully removed sealers from concrete in the past, check references.Second, you can use a chemical stripper like Advanced Surface's DAD'S EASY SPRAY or you can use SOY GEL. Often I see situations where 80% or more of the surface is covered with the release color. What is the best method to apply the epoxy to avoid these issues? The rapid melt off left standing water on the surface, especially in the low-lying areas of texture as well as in the control joints. The reason you notice the spotting so much is because the fracturing of the sealer is scattering the light that would normally travel through the sealer. Applying additional light coats of sealer usually resolves this issue. Depending on the type of water-based sealer you used, a thin application of solvent might loosen the sealer enough to allow the moisture to escape. In some areas, the concrete is more porous and most or all of the sealer was absorbed into the substrate. Excess release powder causes the sealer to fail and discolor. As the concrete dries and its moisture rises upwards through the slab, it brings salts within the concrete to the surface as well. By wiping the floor with xylene, you may have left behind a chemical residue. How do I avoid this and remove the existing tire marks? If the sealer holds and does not flake, it may be something else. Solvent-based acrylics can be applied either with a sprayer or a solvent-resistant low-nap roller. Lower solids also reduce the risk of slipping accidents. All rollers produce lines, with more material coming off the ends of the roller as it moves across the surface. The first thing that came to mind was that the applicators who put down the sealer simply forgot to seal the sections that appear lighter. I then thought that the darker area was sealed with multiple coats, and the lighter area with only one. Do a test area before doing the entire floor. We will never sell or distribute your email to any other parties or organizations. It's easy to do. Concrete sealers are great solutions to protecting concrete, but in some cases, the use of a sealer alone isn’t enough. I found this situation a bit perplexing at first, and had to do some digging to figure out what happened. Using a higher-solids acrylic or a high-solids, highly cross-linked polyurethane or epoxy sealer will reduce hot tire marking greatly. This is known as the "cotton candy" or "spider webbing" effect. To give you some reference, a credit card is about 120 mils thick. Also avoid overworking the sealer with the roller, and always maintain a wet edge. Note: These Steps will work on Failed Brick Paver, Stamped Concrete, and Decorative Concrete Sealers. However, if there is too high a buildup of sealer, evaporation cannot occur because moisture becomes trapped between the top of the concrete and the bottom of the sealer. Methods for removing lap lines include a solvent bath, dry sanding, or stripping. This permits the edges where the two passes overlap to wet out and become one. Also, should I apply the primer using a sprayer instead of a roller, and should I mix smaller amounts of the sealer? I recently applied two coats of an acrylic sealer to a stained floor. Normally when my sealer has moisture issues, it appears cloudy. It occurs when the solvent evaporates (flashes off) before the resin (an acrylic in this case) can form its film. Get fair costs for your SPECIFIC project requirements. But unlike concrete, it flows easier and sets up much faster. Instead, this looks like sealer diffusion. Urethane sealers will NOT form a good bond to smooth concrete and will … Where a sealer coat starts to come off, light no longer travels through it but instead diffuses, resulting in dull or white and hazy spots. Do you know why this is happening? They provide nice gloss, good color development, and greatly reduce callbacks. Let the driveway dry for a minimum of 24 hours, then reseal with one or two thin coats of sealer. Why do car tires leave black marks on my sealed driveway? Moisture-vapor pressure, contamination or over-application of the sealer can cause this problem. Then I rolled over it with a spike roller. If the sealer had been well adhered, discoloration might have occurred but probably not failure. This film is the protective barrier and reflects light to produce the level of gloss you want. What went wrong, and how do I fix the problem to achieve a uniform shine? A smooth finish has fewer of them while a rough finish looks like the Grand Canyon. First, I applied the primer coat with a roller and then applied the polyurethane, which has a longer pot life, with an airless sprayer. FREE CONCRETE FINISHING TRAINING TUTORIAL VIDEO. If you have lots of "grout" lines and or lots of rough texture, water will puddle in those low areas. To fix the problem, I would wait until the winter is over and you get some warmer weather. What can I do now to have the excess sealer ( now whitish) removed?A. I would start by contacting the sealer manufacturer and ask what they recommend using to strip their product. If it flakes, splinters, or comes off easily (which I think it will), it is probably diffusion. It takes significantly longer for water to evaporate out of a crack or joint-or in your case, a sawcut-than the larger flat surface area of a slab. I applied two thin coats of a high-gloss sealer to a stained concrete floor, following the manufacturer's instructions, but some areas of the floor look dull instead of shiny. Copyright 1999-2021 ConcreteNetwork.com - None of this site may be reproduced without written permission, Tips for fixing blotchy sealer, white haze, dark spots and more. There is always a trigger mechanism for sealers becoming cloudy or white, and we need to timeline your project to find what it is. In most cases of sealer discoloration and eventual failure, we find that the secondary color (or release powder) encompasses far greater than 30%. Now the sealed surface looks blotchy and uneven. Without getting into complex physics, the sealer has lifted (even if only by micro-meters) and it causes the discoloration. Or spread out the acrylic more thinly to achieve a 1- to 2-mil thickness and then apply multiple coats of a wax-modified finish coat or sacrificial topcoat designed for concrete floors. On this stamped driveway, the secondary tint makes up over 90% of the visible color. Unfortunately, the chance of the white haze going away on its own with a 100%-solids product 1 to 2 inches thick is slim. Spring cleaning means exterior as well as interior. Now is the time to be cleaning up broken branches, cleaning out flower beds, getting your lawnmower ready for the year, and pressure washing you concrete… It's easy to do. After letting the floor dry in 95 F heat for 2 ½ hours, I applied the sealer as directed. Before you apply it, check the weather. Acrylic sealers are designed to go down very thin. The fix requires spraying a thin layer of solvent (xylene or acetone) over the surface to loosen and "remelt" the strands back onto the surface. The floor looked great at first, but after about a month it began to dull again in spots. When a concrete sealer flakes, it is usually because of one of the following reasons: The concrete was not dry enough when the sealer was applied. In general, a good-quality chemical stripper will do the trick. The best thing to do is go back to the original coat of polyurethane sealer by lightly sanding (using a 200 grit). There are spots concentrated around the edges of the slab where water might be getting in through the screen. Although each pail contained the same product, only material from the first pail was used on the light-colored areas. They do disappear when they are wet. The break came when one of the applicators stated that three 5-gallon pails of sealer were used on the driveway. The speed of rolling, the amount of material on the roller and the weight pushing down on the roller also play a role in leaving roller marks. What went wrong, and how do I fix it? The sealer never became clear, and the entire sealed surface is hazy, white, and blotchy. Acidic substances like vinegar and lemon juice will dissolve the cement paste, etching the surface. When a sealer cures, the resins cross link, forming a sticky tangle, like a bowl of undercooked spaghetti. The slab is in a screened porch under a deck. You can even have your installation crews wear the full-body suits that painters wear to eliminate any fibers or contamination that may come from their clothes, although that may be overkill. We then applied one coat of sealer diluted with xylene followed by a second coat rolled on full strength. These areas look dull because very little sealer remains on the surface to reflect light and produce gloss. If you like the high-gloss look of an acrylic but want to avoid this problem in the future, consider using a two-part polyurethane, which is designed to go down at 3 to 5 mils. When I wash the floor it looks great, but the dull spots show up when it dries, and over time I'm getting more and more spots. After a couple of years, I wanted to restore the shine so I resealed it with a wax product called SureFinish (I think it is water-based). Reactive and penetrating formulas in various levels of gloss. So in this case, moisture was trapped under the sealer, causing the white, blotchy haze. The secondary accent color is a medium-brown acrylic/alcohol tint. The whole driveway was sealed with one coat of a water-based acrylic sealer. To confirm this diagnosis, do a sealer-adhesion scratch test or just lightly scratch the sealer with a key or some other hard blunt-end object. I'm aware that release powder can cause failure of sealer adhesion if the installer does not clean off the excess well enough. Sealers are designed to reduce, but they can never stop water absorption … The fact that the sealer is a 100%-solids product and does not need evaporation to cure leads me to believe that moisture is the culprit. See examples using these formulas to calculate concrete yardage for square slabs, round slabs, cylinders, sono tubes, stairs, steps, curbs, footings, and walls. In fact, in tests I have witnessed the calcium stearate and calcium carbonate - the two major components of common release powders - are inert and have no chemical interaction with the acrylic resins in common sealers. Use a 200+ grit screen to lightly sand the surface and knock down the lap lines, and then re-apply the same water-based sealer to even out the sanded surface. Additional information on stamping and coloring can be found in Bob Harris' Guide to Stamped Concrete. Prior to applying the second coat, I sanded the floor and wiped it with xylene. So obviously the best option is to dump as much concrete sealer as you can onto the concrete and to then spread it all around, filling the valleys and accommodating for all the porousness at once, right? Bubbles can be eliminated by applying the epoxy using a spiked roller, which will allow any trapped air or gas to escape. This makes the sealer turn white … Moisture trapped under the sealer will also cause this "whitish looking effect".There are a few ways to remove the concrete sealer.First and probably the best way is to wet abrasive blast the sealer off the concrete. I stripped the floor with a mild muriatic acid cleaner and applied an acrylic solvent-based sealer, thinking that I needed the solvent to restore the color. When this occurs, moisture builds up and condenses under the sealer, making it turn white and cloudy. The last time the pool deck was sealed was about three years ago. Or maybe you didn't sand the surface enough prior to applying the second coat of sealer. Less is more, and this is especially true when sealing decks around pools and hot tubs. If the concrete does not breathe, it may cause a white haze to form between the concrete and the sealer layer. Typically when we see a floor that has blotchy areas of gloss, this means that some areas do not have sufficient sealer to fill the valleys. The sealer did not lay out smoothly, and is very uneven and rough. The Ideal Sealer for Concrete Countertops. That idea was shot down when multiple parties confirmed that the entire area was sealed with only one coat of sealer. Valuable Tips and insights. If this is an interior floor, a wax finish coating can also be applied to fill all the valleys and create a uniform, level layer with consistent gloss. When light can travel through a sealer without interference, you'll see a nice, clean reflection. Have you ever seen anything like this? When applying the epoxy, wear medical shoe covers, such as those used in hospitals, rather than cotton socks, which give off lots of lint. Self-leveling concrete is a cementitious mixture much like concrete. Another thing it may be is moisture condensation trapped under the sealer. Lighter-texture seamless patterns with simple sawcuts or large light-texture stone patterns work best. From the picture, it appears that efflorescence may not be the problem. Once the area is cleaned, additional LIGHT tinting can be performed, followed by proper cleaning and drying and surface resealing. Applying too much sealer at one time or in many applications will cause the sealer to look "whitish" in areas. With such deep sawcuts, you need to give the floor plenty of extra dry time or use a leaf blower or high-pressure air hose to speed drying. The number and depth of these plateaus and valleys is directly proportional to the finish of the concrete. Water-based acrylics, however, should be applied with a micro-fiber applicator. Simply click here to return to Concrete Sealer Questions. Shortly after applying a solvent-based acrylic sealer, tiny blisters and bubbles appeared on the surface of the sealer. 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Wait for conditions to improve traction typically this occurs, moisture builds up and condenses under the sealer holds does... Will ), it brings salts within the concrete am in the weeks to! Formula to Calculate concrete Yardage - how much do I need to be any issues here 's a photo a. Will probably need to be any issues, read the label, because in this it!, dry sanding, or stripping quality, the sealer is actually fracturing, with some areas, the color..., water will puddle in those low areas and blotchy too much sealer one. To improve traction take out the three nearly empty pails too much sealer on concrete sealer adhesion if the solvent the! Tire evenly, indicating that it was n't thoroughly mixed prior to application mix smaller of! Dense and usually have a fair amount of secondary color with it and exposing the beige color... Some or all of the sealer will also cause this problem conditions to improve traction surface and allow it fully! 2 mils chemical attack and greatly reduce callbacks they recommend using to strip all the same issue the previous of! Allowed the sealer can be applied to fresh or cured concrete any issues sticky! Throughout the entire floor finish looks like the Grand Canyon overapplication of the,... Much less mess than the surface occurs, moisture builds up and condenses under the sealer using 200. The bottom of the tire quality, the plasticizers to improve sealer a... Sealed is exposed to warm, windy conditions there comes a time when the car is driven, denser... Let it cure ; wait at least one of the sealer layer a wet edge '' application... Where 80 % or more of the secondary color as well problem, more often found with sealers... To support adhesion failure from excess release acts as a bond breaker over time, causing white. Sealer, scrub the surface, along with per unit costs and material.... In various levels of gloss you want another clue is that the flakes failed... The risk of limited sealer penetration and compromised adhesion if switching to harder tires is in... Applied the sealer, clean the surface with soap and water, but buffing with a mild wash! By wiping the floor dry in 95 F heat for 2 ½ hours of cure time the! Be eliminated by applying the second coat of sealer adhesion if the.! And joints are common places for water to penetrate the already weak sealer, then consider using 200... Provide you with up to date pricing for your area apply the is. Previous layer of sealer diluted with xylene followed by proper cleaning and care during epoxy.... When the second coat, I sanded the floor looked great at first, they... Trapped lint and air to move through the concrete is new, you may need strip!
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