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Question: I have a 5-year-old stamped concrete patio that has not been resealed since being installed. The sealer is cloudy in some areas and in other areas looks like there is no sealer at all. Do I need to reseal or is there something I can do to bring back the original look and luster of the sealer?
High-performance or high-build coatings offer a higher level of performance than thin-build sealers. A brilliant insight, I know. But in reality, the statement often sums up most of what many people know about high-performance coatings compared to thin-build sealers.
Color selection for stamped and textured concrete is always at the top of the list of issues people question me about. My goal when answering questions like this has always been to try and provide good advice on color selection so no one has to come back and ask about color correction.
As high-performance coatings become more commonplace in decorative applications, so do the problems associated with using them. Unlike acrylic sealers, high-performance coatings (polyurethane, epoxy, polyaspartic and polyurea) are not as forgiving when it comes to application, or more specifically, reapplication.
There is an increase in complaints about the final color not matching the sample or mock-up. In all cases, a small mock-up was created, finished and cured as specified, and eventually accepted by the client. Fast forward to the actual job placement, and all of a sudden the color no longer matched the mock-up sample.
It is widely known that the decorative concrete industry has struggled with tape issues for decades. These range from the tape tearing when overlays are being applied, or stain bleeding under the tape, to adhesive effectiveness when the tape gets wet.
When you think about it, the relatively low percentage of callbacks and problems compared to the overall amount of work performed says a lot about the caliber of installers and the industry as a whole.
A very noticeable trend with decorative concrete over the last decade is that the end users and the design community have become much better educated, not only on the types of finishes and products available, but also on how they are installed and what to expect in terms of long-term performance.
Almost all manufacturers of decorative concrete systems and equipment offer some sort of training on their products. Whether it is a one-hour watch-and-learn or a three-day hands-on class that people pay to attend, these programs have become mainstream in our industry.
If you install stamped concrete, you should be maintaining stamped concrete. You already have all the equipment you need, and you have the experience and training you need as well. Offering an annual maintenance program on your work, or any stamped concrete work for that matter, is a good source of revenue that does not require much in the way of equipment or mental gymnastics.
