511 Impregnator Review
The 511 Impregnator is a product in the Miracle Sealants Company product line offering. It is probably their most popular product with a satisfaction guarantee of up to 20 years. Calling itself the original penetrating sealer, it boasts coverage on a wide variety of applications including: sanded grout, glazed, ceramic and porcelin tile, polished granite and marble, stucco, slate, terrazzo, quartz and travertine.
According to Miracle Sealants, the 511 Impregnator:
…is the original penetrating sealer designed for the protection of all medium to dense porous surfaces. 511 Impregnator forms an invisible barrier that is resistant to moisture and stains while allowing vapor to escape. 511 Impregnator is not a surface coating and will not alter the natural look. All surfaces treated are harder and less slippery. INDEPENDENT LABORATORY TESTS SHOW 511 IMPREGNATOR OUTPERFORMS COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS. (Test results are available upon request).
These claims were exactly what we were looking for out of a penetrating, impregnating sealer so we decided to try it out for ourselves.
What is an impregnating, penetrating sealer? An impregnating or penetrating sealer does just as its name implies, it penetrates the substrate and changes the surface tension to form a water repellent environment. The appearance of the substrate is not changed and retains it natural look while water and fluids bead up instead of being absorbed into the substrate.
So how does the 511 Impregnator work on stone, tile, concrete and masonry surfaces?
If you visit any tile store throughout the country chances are they are going to recommend the 511 Impregnator or if you have a contractor applying tile chances are they are also going to recommend using this product. When it comes time to locating this product it was extremely easy to find in local hardware stores including Home Depot and Lowes. It is also readily available online through Amazon.com, HomeDepot.com and Lowes.com, the 511 Impregnator currently boasts 4.3 stars on Amazon.com based on 261 customer reviews 4.3 starts on HomeDepot.com based on 310 customer reviews. Application of the 511 Impregnator could not have been any easier. It is ready to use right out of the container with a low odor. Available in 16 ounce and 32 ounce containers, the 511 Impregnator seemed to work well at sealing sanded kitchen grout. The small 32 ounce container seems to go extremely far and we had enough left over to seal a countertop.
Our experience:
When it came time to seal the concrete countertop, we first applied two coats. But because concrete is so porous this product soaked right in and we needed to apply an additional coat in order to see water bead. Once cured the sealer worked great! We made sure to apply the sealer every few months and we waxed the concrete countertops weekly since they see a lot of use.
Our review:
Keep in mind the square footage on the container states 500 -4000 square feet but this is taking into account polished surfaces and tile grout’s linear feet. We like that this product is food safe and keeps the concrete countertop looking like a concrete countertop without any gloss or shine. The 20 year guarantee does have a lot of exclusions and does not cover any sort of wear and tear, commercial use, outdoor use, and “improper use of household products”. Even if the guarantee is a marketing ploy The 511 does a good job at sealing concrete countertops. And as with any penetrating concrete countertop product we recommend using a countertop wax in order give the countertops an extra wear layer.
