Hey guys, I'm trying to find a better product to seal a stamped concrete walkway. It looks like red pavers with the concrete edging making it look like pavers.
The original contractor wanted me to use TIAH:
Tiah Acrylic Concrete Sealer
It lasts for about a year, then fades pretty bad. One time I did a reseal before waiting long enough after pressure washing and had a real bad blush, so had to strip that and start over. But when done properly, I am still onlygetting a year out of a reseal before it looks bad again.
Wondering if someone knows of a better product.
It is used just a small amount, we normaly use the door inside the garage to enter the house.
I am careful with it, normally any snow removal is done by hand with an all-plastic shovel.
It is not blushed now, just looking dull.
Gilly
The product isn't bad, it's just that your expectations are too high. Clear sealer is like clear paint. On a horizontal traffic surface it gets scuffed and scratched by your feet and the grit your shoes are carrying. It begins to look dull, just like if you used sandpaper on it. The common thought is to just apply more sealer over the top. This is compleely wrong. You're just building he layers up too thick and it will absolutely cause blushing because the moisture trying to evaporate out of the concrete hits the sealer barrier and can't get out. Then it turns white.
To rejuvinate what you've got without adding another layer, buy a few gallons of xylol at a hardware or paint store. Pour it in a large METAL pail. Use a natural bristle acid brush (any hardware store. Make sure it's natural bristle because plastic ones will melt in the xylol)) on a broom handle and dip it into the pail. Apply a brushful at a time, scrubbing it around in a circular motion. Move quick because the xylol will evaporate quickly on the surface. When it does, your sealer will again be crystal clear without need for further work.
If you don't believe me, try it on a small spot. You'll be amazed with the results. If you want it to be less slippery, mix a little shark grip (sherwin williams paint store) with the xylol, or use a salt shaker to sprinkle it on the surface immediately after the scrub when its still wet. It does'nt take much. Post back with your results. It will help others in the future.
If there is no blushing now, you can simply use a pump-up garden sprayer to liberally spray xylol on the surface. No scrubbing needed. It will bring your sealer back to new looking also. However, the sprayer will be toast in no time because the xylol will eat the seals and gum up the sprayer. A metal sprayer is best, but if it's a small area a $15 plastic one from Lowes will work too(for a short while). Then you can just throw it away. I would do either of these operations in the evening when it's cooler so the xylol doesn't evaporate too quickly. Good luck.
Pecos, thanks for the reply. I think the couple times we did refinish with TIAH that we didn't have ideal conditions. We had pressure washed it and then think we didn't wait long enough for it to dry out. I also think it might have gotten too hot when we refinished.
I read that we can't change bases without totally stripping the TIAH off. I think we might have enough TIAH left to give it another coat or maybe two. The last time I did it I went through a lot of Xylol to strip it off.
So how would it sound if I just damp-sponged it, just to get the dirt off, then a coat of TIAH early in the morning, just when it's getting light out, then maybe another one at dusk the same day? And make sure it's during a dry spell so we know the concrete isn't saturated at all?
Wife thinks the walk isn't used enough to have a real wear problem, but thinks the finish is getting affected by the sun.
It is as wide as a normal sidewalk and maybe 20 feet long? It's curved also.
Oh and an odd note to add;
It is this colored stamped concrete, and this winter I noticed the botton layer of snow, when I shoveled, was tinted red, same color as the concrete.........
If you're seeing red in the snow, then it probably does need to be re-sealed. You should be fine doing it the way you described, but if it looks good after the first coat, I wouldn't apply another because of the over-build up of sealer I talked about before. Good luck.
Tags: reseal, stamped, concrete, walkway, because xylol, because xylol will, better product, evaporate quickly, Good luck, like pavers, long enough, might have, natural bristle, paint store
