Q: How Do You Apply Concrete Sealer?
A: In order to determine how do you apply concrete sealer, you first must determine the tools you are going to need to apply concrete sealer. The most common application tools to apply a concrete sealer are a paint brush, a paint roller or a sprayer. Paint brushes can be used on small amounts of square footage while sprayers can be used on large amounts of square footage. Garden variety pump-up sprayers, low pressure airless sprayers or backpack sprayers are common application tools. If you decide to use a paint roller a standard 3/8″ or 1/4″ nap usually works best. All application tools usually work well to apply concrete sealer; if the manufacturer does not specify a specific tool it will then come down to personal preference. Sprayers tend to make application easy and take the least amount of time, while rollers are great to apply epoxy floor coatings.
Once you have decided what application tool you want to use to apply concrete sealer, you are then going to want to follow the temperature and surface preparation guidelines. You usually want to make sure the concrete is dry, clean, free of oil, grease and mold. If you are applying a durable concrete coating you are going to want to make sure that the surface profile of the concrete floor is between a CSP 2 – CSP 3. In other words you want to make sure that the concrete floor has good surface profile and texture for the coating to bond with. This can be achieved by grinding the concrete floor or acid etching the concrete floor. If you use acid to clean the concrete you also want to make sure you neutralize and rinse the concrete. Surface profile and preparation are the most important factors when it comes to longevity of a concrete floor coating. If you do not properly prepare the concrete the coating is at risk for failure. Lastly a clear, rain free day with the temperature between 40ºF-90ºF is usually standard.
From here you will follow the instructions set forth by the manufacturer. Some concrete sealers require two coats while others require only one coat. Make sure you pay attention to the re-coat time frames as some penetrating concrete sealers require two coats wet-on-wet while epoxy floor coatings have a specific re-coat windows that must be followed in order to avoid de-glossing.
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