Concrete Sealers

Decorative concrete deserves to be protected. After you’ve put in all that hard work, creative effort and time, you — and your client — should expect that beauty to last a while. And it can, if you seal it properly.

Of course, with so many products on the market these days called “concrete sealers,” it is not surprising that the topic can get a bit confusing. Chris Sullivan, national technical director of QC Construction Products, explains there are three general categories of products referred to as sealers: cures, cure-and-seals, and sealers. It’s this third category — protective sealers — we’re looking at in this discussion.

Decorative concrete sealers can be further grouped as either film-forming or penetrating sealers. Film-forming sealers, such as straight acrylics, urethanes and epoxies, provide a protective barrier on the surface of the concrete. Penetrating sealers, such as silanes, actually migrate into the surface of the concrete and generally do not affect the appearance of the surface. (For more information about types of protective sealers, see the June 2003 issue of Concrete Decor.)

However, as important as the correct selection and/or specification of a sealer may be, so is proper application.