Finished Concrete Sealant Question!

[ajcarson11]

Evening All!

I'm new to the forum here and have just put in 200+ hours of work to renovate a horse barn, turning it into a shop. Concrete was poured 9 days ago, and I am happy with the result, with one potential exception. The contractor asked if I wanted to have the slab sealed, and given that I don't plan to put epoxy down, I agreed. He offered to seal it for $120, and I went ahead and agreed.

I watched him seal it at the end of the pouring day -- He applied the sealant using a hand pump sprayer right after the power troweling was done (~10 hours after the start of the pour). He noted that that is how he frequently applies the sealant (using a basic hand pump). It looked to me like the bottle sprayed a bit uneven (not a fine mist, but more of just a normal cheap spray nozzle) -- but he didn't seem concerned. He noted that he can't leave the sealant in the sprayer for too long, as it will eat its way through the sprayer -- and thus I watched him take the extra and put it back into the 5 gallon container. I didn't note the exact sealant used. If i had to guess, I'd say he covered all 1700sqft with sealer in less than half an hour (pretty fast).

It was a long day for me, and thus I didn't think to ask a ton of questions at the time -- but my main question is in regards to the look of the finished floor. See attached pictures (one picture is the finished floor prior to sealant and then the other picture is finished floor with sealant). It looks pretty splotchy. I can't tell if this means that there is just really poor coverage (light areas have no coverage and dark shiny areas are good?), or if there is likely total coverage but that the darker areas just have more coverage? I'm not that worried about the look -- I'm more concerned with whether the floor is totally sealed or not.

Any thoughts? Thanks All!

 

[ajcarson11]

Update: Talked to contractor. His response is that this is normal, the discoloration is the result of the sealer 'going away', and that eventually all parts of the floor will even out to uniform color. If anyone disagrees or has additional thoughts let me know!

 

[rebelranger]

Aj - was it a sealer or denisifer? What brand sealer? Denisifers go away. Sealers vary.. matte, gloss, natural, tinted, etc.

 

[ajcarson11]

Hey rebel -- I'm ultimately not sure. I'll try to contact and get more information on what was used... Just didn't think it through at the time that it was being applied.

 

[Snip]

Almost the same set up here, Local finisher ( Well respected) used a petroleum based sealer the day after my pour, it was put on with a roller I think he used about 7 gallons. It looked all wet and shiny for about 2 weeks then slowly progressed to what yours looks like. Floor is now about 6 months old and most of the sheen is gone except in very low use areas. I wipe up spills usually pretty quick but haven't had any issues with stains. second picture was after about a month, last picture was about 6 weeks ago. I think that the sealer penetrated the concrete and the remaining left on top just dissipates and wears off?

 

[ajcarson11]

Thanks Snip! Really good to know... I'll keep a watch over it. Sounds like our experiences are similar.

 

[rburke65]

My floor looked the same as yours and the splotches are evident today after 8 years. I think ur good.

 

[Pompey]

I used cure n seal on my garage floor here in the USA. After many years of curing it is still easily disolved by gasoline spills. I wish i had over painted the floor with a floor paint now.

I had good results in the damp UK climate when I bought paint from a local seller who (since the floor had just been poured) advised me to use a white two part paint desinged for sealing concrete water tanks which I then covered with a grey floor paint. I never had any issues with the paint lifting.

 

[rburke65]

Floor placed and coated with a curing compound In 2012. I do not ‘mind’ the looks.

 

[Walkers]

Those floors look like ****! My customers would never tolerate anything like that. I have never seen a sealer that was recommended to be put down until 90 days or so after the pour. I would have those contractors out grinding and polishing the floor.

 

[ajcarson11]

Just as a final update to this -- the splotches have almost completely worn away -- the concrete looks uniform now. So that problem has solved itself!

I ended up finishing a separate room inside the barn (~500sqft) and am looking into throwing on some floor polish/wax for added protection. Checking into the type of sealer used by the contractor earlier this year so i can determine if i need to reseal before polish.