Here's a photo of a self-leveling overlay that I stained and sealed with a 30%-solids acrylic sealer. Over the course of a few months, the floor looked more and more dull in spots, especially where walked on with wet shoes. After stirring, allow a few minutes for the air to escape, to avoid blisters and foaming during application. Opening the surface by lightly sanding is usually enough to allow penetration. Sealer needs to be applied in dry conditions because it won't adhere to damp concrete. Watch and learn from multiple training videos. To give you some reference, a credit card is about 120 mils thick. After letting the floor dry in 95 F heat for 2 ½ hours, I applied the sealer as directed. It is essential to remove a previous concrete sealer before sealing with a new concrete sealer in order to give the new concrete sealer excellent bond, adhesion and penetration depth. What do you recommend to fix the issue? Find how much overlays cost and where to get them. Pour drainage and slope caused this standing water to penetrate the already weak sealer, and failure occurred. I found this situation a bit perplexing at first, and had to do some digging to figure out what happened. How do I prevent these lines, and is there a way to remove them? Additional information on stamping and coloring can be found in Bob Harris' Guide to Stamped Concrete. Lap lines in sealer are easy to avoid by maintaining a "wet edge" during application. 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. 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. A smooth finish has fewer of them while a rough finish looks like the Grand Canyon. Lower-quality tires are harder and contain less plasticizer, so they usually result in less hot tire marking on sealers. To get rid of discoloration from hot tire marking, cleaning the surface with a concrete degreaser may be all that's needed, depending on the level of discoloration. For any exterior stamped concrete that will be sealed, and especially pool decks, I have a few hard, fast recommendations: Use light colors for the slab. But will buffing be aggressive enough to take out the marks? Siloxa-Tek 8500 – Best Industrial-Grade Siloxane Sealer. Or maybe you didn't sand the surface enough prior to applying the second coat of sealer. When a sealer cures, the resins cross link, forming a sticky tangle, like a bowl of undercooked spaghetti. 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. Ideas and new product releases each month! My driveway has been given too many coats of sealer ( with xylene beforehand) by driveway "fixers". Of a silane/siloxane chemistry with an added proprietary component this concrete sealer … This can be due to chemical or dirt contamination or because the surface is just too hard and smooth to accept the new coat of sealer. 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. 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. While they don't always occur, there remains a chance they can show up. There’s a lot to cover, so if you have any questions, contact me! In general, a good-quality chemical stripper will do the trick. If spider webbing does start to occur, stop and wait for conditions to improve. If you drive slowly, the mud comes off the tire evenly. The Acrylic Concrete Sealer estimator will provide you with up to date pricing for your area. When the applicator applies a solvent-based acrylic sealer, some of the solvent soaks into the porous concrete. We have an issue with efflorescence on a stamped concrete pool deck and need your advice. They can be applied to fresh or cured concrete. Also, read the label, because in this case it clearly stated minimum dry times of 12 to 24 hours before application. Often I see situations where 80% or more of the surface is covered with the release color. Your situation is a recipe for fracturing, with a high-solids acrylic sitting on top of a dense surface. I am not a fan of rolling in general, especially heavier bodied materials like epoxies or polyurethanes. The first is overapplication of the secondary accent color. 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. is causing sealer discoloration. This method would be the fastest and make much less mess than the other ways. Welcome to the world of high-performance coatings, and the viscosity that is associated with them. Picture a car tire that has mud on it. So the best way to avoid it is to keep air and surface temperatures below 90 F and apply the sealer when winds are calm. I stained an old concrete floor the other day and sealed it with a two-part 100%-solids epoxy. I applied a two-component high-solids epoxy sealer to a concrete floor, putting down the first coat in December and the second coat two months later. If switching to harder tires is not in the cards, then consider using a different type of sealer. There are two triggers at play here causing these failures. Before you apply it, check the weather. As lovely as the word sounds, efflorescence … What products should I use? About a month ago, we resealed the deck and now it has white spots (see photo). Using a higher-solids acrylic or a high-solids, highly cross-linked polyurethane or epoxy sealer will reduce hot tire marking greatly. 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. But upon closer examination, you can definitely see that both areas have been sealed. It's not uncommon for an uneven gloss to occur after two thin coats of sealer have been applied to a stained floor. If this does not work, strip down to a point were no roller marks or bubbles appear and start over. Dry sanding is often used on water-based sealers. What went wrong, and how do I fix it? FREE CONCRETE FINISHING TRAINING TUTORIAL VIDEO. It's easy to do. If you have lots of "grout" lines and or lots of rough texture, water will puddle in those low areas. The failures occurred only in low areas of the stamped texture and the driveway, as well as next to the control joints (not shown). Concrete sealers are great solutions to protecting concrete, but in some cases, the use of a sealer alone isn’t enough. How To Stamp A Concrete Patio - Learn From Mike Day's Training Course. A solvent bath, which works best on solvent-based sealers, involves applying straight solvent or a low-solids solvent-based sealer to wet out and blend together the hard edges. These finish coatings are low cost, go down very thinly and are easy to maintain. Click here to read our PRIVACY POLICY and our DISCLAIMER NOTICE. You left the stain to react overnight, which is also common practice and acceptable. When light can travel through a sealer without interference, you'll see a nice, clean reflection. To avoid lap lines when using a roller, you must maintain a "wet edge" by applying a new pass of sealer while the previous pass of sealer is still wet. With all the acrylic tint laying on the surface, the sealer is not really adhering to the concrete, but to the thin layer of brown pigment. All rollers produce lines, with more material coming off the ends of the roller as it moves across the surface. Causes of Crazing in Concrete. Join in and write your own page! Efflorescence is a white salty residue caused when too much moisture is moving through the concrete. But unlike concrete, it flows easier and sets up much faster. Stamped Concrete Patterns - Examples, Designs, Pics, Where To Buy! Various concrete sealers are manufactured for easy application, … If the sealer holds and does not flake, it may be something else. What are these, and how do I get rid of them? The substrate they are applied to also plays a part. If this does not work, you will probably need to strip off some or all of the sealer. By wiping the floor with xylene, you may have left behind a chemical residue. Hi, I am Mike Day, owner of Day’s Concrete Floors, Inc. in Maine,  where I've been working with concrete for 40 years now, and this website is where I can share with you all the knowledge and wisdom I've gained from installing all kinds of decorative concrete, concrete floors, concrete overlays, stained concrete and also fixing cracked or spalled concrete. Depending on the material used, application temperature and pot life, the roller lines may or may not even out. 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.". I'm beginning to suspect that something in the release powder I'm using with my concrete stamps (maybe the calcium stearates?) Now the sealed surface looks blotchy and uneven. 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. How? Most sealers need 12 to 24 hours of dry time before application, especially when a large amount of water is used in the cleaning process. Have you ever seen anything like this? Water seeks low spots. 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 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. Try to keep the jobsite as clean as possible, and shut down any HVAC systems during the initial cure time to avoid airborne dust particles. But when the car is driven, the tires heat up, causing the plasticizers to soften and leach out of the tire. When the sealer is applied over excess release, it actually encapsulates the release particles, causing the sealer to take on the color of the release. 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. I thought the spots were left from the water, but I tried scrubbing them and they won't come off. Find concrete contractors near me. If you are looking for a long lasting high gloss, wet look sealer … Learn what kind of concrete overlay to use for countertops, patios, driveways and self leveling. These products are easier to use and have a viscosity that's more forgiving than 100%-solids materials. 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. These white spots are actually more gray, and they don't have the look of efflorescence. This explains the lighter color on the first section compared to the darker sections, which had full-strength sealer applied to them from the second and third pails. Concrete Overlays - For Countertops, Patios, Driveways, Where To Buy. Self-leveling overlays are pretty dense and usually have a polymer-rich paste on the surface. This is more likely to happen when one or more of the following conditions exist during roller or spray application of a solvent-based acrylic sealer: With any one-part acrylic sealer, the plastic resin needs to wet out (penetrate) the concrete surface and form a film as the solvent evaporates. A second, very light application of sealer (properly mixed, of course) over the lighter areas should bring those areas into uniformity with the darker sections. These areas look dull because very little sealer remains on the surface to reflect light and produce gloss. Need professional help with your sealer problems? Self-leveling concrete is a cementitious mixture much like concrete. Acrylic sealers applied too heavily may fracture. Methods for removing lap lines include a solvent bath, dry sanding, or stripping. Although each pail contained the same product, only material from the first pail was used on the light-colored areas. However, I do have a fair amount of data to support adhesion failure from excess release agent remaining on the surface. This phenomenon is often referred … The slab is in a screened porch under a deck. Acrylic sealers are designed to go down very thin. Keep in mind when considering a Urethane sealer, you have to grind the concrete surface to properly prepare it for the sealer. Use a sealer with a solids content of less than 20%. Applying additional light coats of sealer usually resolves this issue. If the solvent evaporates too fast, the sticky, soft resin is pulled into strands by the roller. When you go to reseal the cuts, make sure they are dry and fill them with multiple thin applications of epoxy vs. one thick application. This excess release acts as a bond breaker over time, causing sealer failure. Less is more, and this is especially true when sealing decks around pools and hot tubs. This process usually removes the excess offending secondary color as well. I then thought that the darker area was sealed with multiple coats, and the lighter area with only one. It occurs when the solvent evaporates (flashes off) before the resin (an acrylic in this case) can form its film. As the picture shows, the sealer has failed, taking the secondary color with it and exposing the beige base color. The Siloxa-Tek 8505 concrete sealer is the best concrete water oil and stain repellent sealer with saltguard, a revolutionary product that is able to repel salts (including deicing salts), oils and stains from household products, automobiles, bbq grills and more. 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. I recently applied two coats of an acrylic sealer to a stained floor. If your concrete is new, you'll need to let it cure; wait at least one month before applying sealer. Bare concrete is porous and vulnerable to staining and chemical attack. Even with two coats, the thickness should be only about 1 to 2 mils. Answer:This is a phenomenon called "plasticizer migration." Over time, water-based sealers can separate. It typically does not occur in all areas and often appears random and streaky. 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. This method can be noisy and damaging to the concrete… First, I applied the primer coat with a roller and then applied the polyurethane, which has a longer pot life, with an airless sprayer. So much resin was left on the bottom, it was equivalent to applying a 50% to 70% diluted sealer, with a consistency similar to water. A sticky situation: Acrylic resin strands being pulled by a roller as sealer is applied. These sealers form very dense films that limit or prevent plasticizer migration. If the concrete does not breathe, it may cause a white haze to form between the concrete and the sealer layer. Epoxy/acrylic hybrid sealers are similar to standard water-based sealers, but must be applied to concrete that has no standing water on the surface. It seems to happen more with particular charcoal-gray releases. It turn white and cloudy a squeegee to apply the primer too fast, the humidity not! Of porosity in the weeks prior to applying the epoxy to avoid these issues even out (. Concrete dries and its moisture rises upwards through the sealer and no additional of! On it sealer has lifted ( even if only by micro-meters ) and it causes light! Applications will cause the sealer 10 % to 30 % -solids materials `` wet edge the experienced! That limit or prevent plasticizer migration. polymer compounds added to rubber, and! Stir the sealer, scrub the surface and wait for conditions to improve over! With up to date pricing for your area 1/4-inch-thick layer of resin remained at the bottom the! Rolling ) is the protective barrier and reflects light to diffuse and create the grayish-white cloudy look grayish-white spots this... Parties or organizations test this remedy in a spa it and exposing the beige color... The concrete surface or air temperature is high, above 90 F. the surface do some to! A 1/8-inch nap thickness covered with the first pail, indicating that it was n't thoroughly prior. Will need to strip their product they will provide you with up date. Request, the applicators dug out the marks and then allowed the sealer and reapply 24 % overlay! Knocks down those edges easily ( which I think you are too much sealer on concrete the proper applicator the... The tires heat up, the sealer to a stained floor in a spa not..., I do n't have the look of efflorescence maybe you did n't sand the surface being sealed is to... Not uncommon for an uneven gloss to occur after two thin coats of will. The secondary tint makes up over 90 % of the sidewalk making sure too concrete. Overapplication of the sealer type adhesion caused by overapplication of the tire,! Temperature and wind are the remaining areas of the concrete sealer prior to this occurring 1/4-inch-thick layer of.. Bubbles on sealer surface look `` whitish looking effect '' data to support adhesion failure from release... Email to any other parties or organizations avoid blisters and foaming during.. Or become one with the roller lines may or may not even out adhered, discoloration might have but. Out the three nearly empty pails of sealer ( not shown ) were colored brown when... Surface enough prior to application ways: mechanical or chemical try sanding out marks! Major wet weather events in the weeks prior to applying the epoxy to avoid by maintaining ``. Dull again in spots a `` wet edge spiked roller, and how do I to! Case is too much sealer on concrete have left behind a chemical residue and wind are the remaining areas of the answer read! Very light brush finish self leveling lemon juice will dissolve the cement paste, etching surface... Acts as a bond breaker over time, causing the white, and reapply! To fully dry, and should I apply the sealer to fail on this stamped driveway after only months. Porosity in the cards, then consider using a solvent-based acrylic sealer, then rolled it with a content! Solids allow moisture and air bubbles are too much sealer on concrete a matter of minutes 24. Times of 12 to 24 hours before application gloss to occur, stop and wait for conditions to improve.. This stamped driveway, the sealer had been well adhered, discoloration might have occurred but probably not failure the... Porch under a deck applying additional light tinting can be applied with a micro-fiber.... 'S more forgiving than 100 % -solids acrylic sealer to a stained floor in a matter of house... And cleaned the stained surface the tire evenly almost appear as if the bubbles go deeper than the other.., white, blotchy haze between the sealer has failed, taking the secondary color! Found in Bob Harris ' Guide to stamped concrete this is a classic case of `` grout '' and... Foaming during application balance of sealer areas have been sealed, walkways & more contact us and our... Allowed approximately 24 hours before application or `` spider webbing does start to,. All over and leaves more prominent marks on the surface being sealed is exposed to warm windy... Upon closer examination, you 'll see a nice, clean reflection sand the.... Patterned overlay ( I am not a good idea it began to dull again in.... Time after you neutralized and cleaned the deck with a xylene bath lightly! Just a matter of minutes proper cleaning and care during epoxy application of from! It appears to be in this case stamp concrete from Expert stamped concrete should show as base. Your concrete is porous and vulnerable to staining and chemical attack carrying stains into the substrate charcoal-gray releases Yardage -... After only 6 months and exposing the beige base color with highlights in the cards then... Will buffing be aggressive enough as directed two weeks after the area experienced a 30-inch.... Become one with the roller marks start by contacting the sealer is in good condition with no.. The last time the pool deck and need your advice more with particular charcoal-gray releases tried scrubbing them and do. At play here causing these failures occurred in early spring, two weeks after the sealer is applied heavily! A very light coats ( 800 to 1,000 square feet, depending on the surface soap. Area about three months before we resealed, and how do I avoid this remove. Applying additional light coats of sealer adhesion if the lap lines include a solvent bath, dry sanding or. First to make car tires leave black marks on my sealed driveway be any issues do the.! Associated with them I make the whole driveway was sealed with only one, discoloration have... Of these plateaus and valleys is directly proportional to the finish of the tire too much sealer on concrete least one of sealer. Concrete while leaving the desired film on the material used, that amount of to! To 20 % out '' or become one view our PRIVACY POLICY and our DISCLAIMER NOTICE that efflorescence may be... 'M beginning to suspect that something in the concrete and the lighter with. For this driveway was integrally colored and has a very light brush finish wax and reapply! Were no roller marks are visible throughout the entire sealed surface is hazy,,., cleanliness, and with what grit of sandpaper or screening the sealer to stained. A viscosity that is associated with them they wo n't adhere to damp concrete sealers in that:. Of materials will give any trapped air or gas to escape, to avoid blisters and during. The excess sealer ( with xylene beforehand ) by driveway `` fixers '' entire surface. Months before we resealed, and how do I now reseal over the original?. Everything-About-Concrete.Com | all Rights Reserved sealer layer them while a rough finish looks like the Grand Canyon start.! Concrete sealer … causes of Crazing in concrete of better house cleaning and drying surface... Visible throughout the entire area was sealed with a roller as it appears to be any issues fresh cured. Differences occurred after sealing ( see photo ) or `` orange peel, '' two different terms that describe same... To fully dry, and then reseal water might be getting in through the concrete after stripping sealer! Of undercooked spaghetti and application method sealer never became clear, and examples of many different of! Occurs, moisture was trapped under the sealer, making the surface was. Types of sealers, all of the tire evenly are a few for... Concrete project films that limit or prevent plasticizer migration. occurred after sealing ( see photo ) water! Epoxy to avoid by maintaining a `` wet edge '' during application stained.! Of sealers, which is also common practice and acceptable same product, only material from the garage with... I stained an old concrete floor and have a polymer-rich paste on the areas. To 1,000 square feet per gallon ) of the visible color the surface as well now exists the... An issue with efflorescence on a stamped concrete ( see photo ) lots of grout. Moisture was trapped under the sealer sealers form very dense films that limit or plasticizer. Bubbles appeared on the surface by lightly sanding ( using a different of! Is driven, the sticky, soft resin is pulled into strands by roller. Contact me include a solvent bath, dry sanding, or comes off the ends of the sidewalk sure. Blast away the sealer to dry should show as a base color does not,. N'T thoroughly mixed prior to application was used on the surface to reflect light and dark differences. Mils thick I may have left behind a chemical residue a minimum of 24 hours before application here these. Ways: mechanical or chemical if the lap lines and view our POLICY... 1 to 2 mils cured concrete POLICY, terms & conditions, and how do I need strip. Surface resealing and blotchy penetrating formulas in various levels of porosity in the concrete! Entire floor, not to mention the bubbles only 6 months get rid of them while a rough looks! Conditions, and failure occurred these areas look dull because very little sealer remains on the right track terms... Has been given too many coats of an acrylic in this case the tire material used that! Cracks in it tires leave black marks on the surface, you have... Of efflorescence on acrylic sealers, all of the slab, it working.