I better expound here...
I read the first post like this was a driveway that needed to be sealed.
From what I read, a sealer is more of a temporary fix...it has to be re-sealed every few years for it to be good. There are water based sealers that will be destroyed when gas and harsh chemicals are spilled on them and there are apparently some sealers that are much better that are not water based. I don't what is best, but sealers appear to be a quick and cheap way to cover your concrete as long as you don't mind redoing it every so often. I think I am going to go the epoxy route.
Gambit is exactly right. Epoxy is more chemical resistant and more expensive. And, until recently... the chemical resistance of sealers have been very low.
The AcryliSeal 3401 and 3501 are cheap... cheap... cheap... acrylic sealers. These products are a fraction of the cost of quality epoxies, polyaspartics, urethanes, polysiloxanes, or fluoropolymers. These products are for people who are looking to cheaply seal concrete whether indoors or out. They are exterrior durable. We sell thousands of gallons a month into Florida alone under various brand names... The sun is brutal there.
Obviously, if you want the best performance we have other products for that and they're going to be more expensive.
We've tested the 3501 against just about every major 1K solvent based concrete sealer. The object of the project was to replace 1K solvent based sealers for use over decorative concrete, stone, and other masonry products. It is more flexible and harder at the same time. More importantly, it can be applied on damp concrete without blushing which is a common defect seen in acrylic sealers. Neither solvent based or water based products have had that capability. Although it has an acrylic component... obviously it is a hybrid.
He recommended buying the Black Bull sealer from Lowes. Home Depot sells a Brand called Eagle and I believe it's the same thing.
You would be surprised at how many companies sell the EXACT same thing. In fact, we make thousands of gallons per month of the same product that gets our label as well as many other companies labels. If you've done much concrete sealing you've probably used product made by us... especially in Florida.
Anyway this turned out to be a very bad choice. I put a coat down and it looked great. Then I came back a short while later and it looked like I hadn't put anything on it. It ended up taking about four coats or so to get a good looking finish without the concrete soaking it all up. It looked good for a while but isn't durable at all. After a couple of years now it's mostly gone. I'm going to strip the rest soon and go with some type of epoxy most likely.
Acrylic sealers are dependant on the porosity of your concrete. Since you are trying to fill the pores, the more (or bigger) your pores are the more coats you are going to need to fill them. And, the reason to use acrylic is the minimal prep and low cost. Most people would rather take a couple of hours to reseal every couple of years than spend the time and money to do the job with quality materials. I'm of the breed that you buy the best quality product you can find and do it just once. But, to each his own...
Wow, listen to Wolverine. Obviously he knows whats going on. Nanopolymer? Explain Eric?
Anything from Lowes or Home Depot... those are not really professional products... just consumer. If you put a coating on your floor that has good bond, you can always sand and recoat when it starts going south. If you put a sealer down, and decide to eventually put a coating down, it might not work depending on the sealer. I would say a coating is the way to go, or polishing would be nice too. But then again, theres no going back, and its more expensive than two coats of epoxy.
You're too kind... lol... With this new technology we believe that we are going to majorly increase durability and we already know that the adhesion is light years ahead. We've been involved in nanotechnolgy for years and this is the natural next step.
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I was thinking about putting on some H&C Clear 23...I'm a newbie at this stuff, is this a type of sealer you were asking about?
If it's a P.O.S. I'd like to know and would be interested to hear more about the Wolverine water-based product coming out.
I want to go with a sealer rather than epoxy due to my need to turn the car around in the garage and possibility of welding.
Thanks for helping a newbie understand these products better!
A newbie... you've got 688 posts dude... lol... Anyway, no problem. H & C is a pretty decent company. The 23 is an Silicone Acrylic that is solventbased. In general, solventbases silicone acrylics have good UV stability and would be better than just a standard acrylic and of course, more expensive depending on the solids. The only issue people have is recoatability. But, it can be recoated and would probably be just fine.
We are already back-ordered on the new product (the 3501) and are not looking to get a bunch of sales on here right now for that. Unless you fit the profile for what we listed above for test areas it will be awhile before we are going to sell this to the DIY market.
I want to go with a sealer rather than epoxy due to my need to turn the car around in the garage and possibility of welding.
I would be curious to know what you mean by this. A good quality epoxy will be much more durable than any sealer. And... of course... more expensive...
Wolverine Coatings, How could I pass up your offer of a new product demo. I have a 40 x 32 shop, a 32 x 14 pad on the side and a 40 x 25 pad in the front that I would like to do. If this works well I will also want to do the 24 x 24 attached garage and 24 x 25 front pad and front porch and rear patio as well. I live in NW Tennessee where the weather is HOT. I have a couple of cool cars in the Shop. A twin turbo 69 Camaro and a 70 SS Chevelle 454. All my concrete is new and unmolested. Can you help me quickly?
Thanks, Chris
No problem... I am going to ask that you work with Fred so he can route this through the propper channels. How far are you from Nashville? It would be cool if I would could work a visit into a trip there. Anyway, PM Fred (AlphaGarage) and he'll give you some instructions. We're going to want pics of the garage and the cars. I would expect shipping to be really cheap to NW TN.
Fred:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/member.php?u=22680
