Sealer application with sprayer - how to not overdo it?

[67King]

Have a concrete pad, outdoors, will be where I park the truck and trailer, plan to build a solar awning carport thing over it. About 750SF. Main area is 44x16 wiht some small sidewalk areas.

Bought a 5 gallon thing of Formula 137 from Legacy. 200-500SF/gal, as mine is brushed, I assumed I'd use more. Well.....I got 3/4 of it done with 2 coats per their recommendation, but the last two 8x8 sections weren't finished, as well as the sidewalks (weren't touched). The 5 gallons should have at minimum gotten 1000SF of coverage. I didn't get 700SF done with 2 coats. Going to order more and finish off the main area. Well.....I hope since it will have one coat already, not sure how it will take a second (at least this will be at the rear of the trailer, so not likely to have to deal with a potential fluid leak from a vehicle).

But my question is, for those of you who've done this with pump sprayers, have you had this issue, and if so, how did you manage? Sprayer is a 4 gallon Echo backpack sprayer. I didn't think I was saturating the thing, only getting full coverage for each coat.

Again, main feedback I'm looking for is how to not overdo it?

 

[kngelv]

I used the same sealer back in the spring. The brushed areas really soaked it up. I started with 5 gallons and I ended up having to order an extra gallon. I used a two gallon hand sprayer. That 500' is only realistic with an extremely light coating on smooth concrete. My 24' x 24' garage is smooth and I used two full gallons. The entrance, driveway extension and some sidewalk squares were all brushed and I was at like maybe 150' per gallon. Good luck.

James

 

[67King]

I used the same sealer back in the spring. The brushed areas really soaked it up. I started with 5 gallons and I ended up having to order an extra gallon. I used a two gallon hand sprayer. That 500' is only realistic with an extremely light coating on smooth concrete. My 24' x 24' garage is mooth and I used two full gallons. The entrance, driveway extension and some sidewalk squares wer all brushed and I was at like maybe 150' per gallon. Good luck.

James

Thanks for the response! When i went back the next day (we haven't moved in, yet), the areas where I got two coats on looked great, therre had been some precipitation earlier, and it beaded up really well. Looked like ice. The area where I only got one coat clearly weren't sealed as well.

I had expected I'd have a little extra that I might use on some of the other areas where I have concrete, like the driveway leading up to the workshop, the patio out back. Wondering if it is worth it, at $100/gallon, it adds up. Will need at least 2 more gallons I think, wondering if I should just pony up enough for a 5 gallon container, again.

 

[kngelv]

Thanks for the response! When i went back the next day (we haven't moved in, yet), the areas where I got two coats on looked great, therre had been some precipitation earlier, and it beaded up really well. Looked like ice. The area where I only got one coat clearly weren't sealed as well.

I had expected I'd have a little extra that I might use on some of the other areas where I have concrete, like the driveway leading up to the workshop, the patio out back. Wondering if it is worth it, at $100/gallon, it adds up. Will need at least 2 more gallons I think, wondering if I should just pony up enough for a 5 gallon container, again.

It's really good stuff but is a little expensive. Unfortunately you might be stuck where you only got one coat down. I don't think another coat will penetrate. It's really weird how water sort of floats on the surface. It rained three days after mine was put down and there were water bubbles everywhere for a day or so. You can see this in the photo below. I was still waiting on the extra gallon to finish a couple of squares and you can see how the unsealed one looks. They accidentally sent me the wrong product initially. I still have a 5-gallon container of their HD6500 Sealer that I have no use for.

James

 

[Mike65]

Our garage in 25' x 24' & I used a garden sprayer to apply the sealer to the floor once the concrete cured. I used Foundation Armor IIRC it was the S2000 matte finish. I used almost 2 gals.

 

[67King]

Our garage in 25' x 24' & I used a garden sprayer to apply the sealer to the floor once the concrete cured. I used Foundation Armor IIRC it was the S2000 matte finish. I used almost 2 gals.

That's less than half what mine took up, but as kngelv pointed out, the brushed surface soaks it up. I'm assuming your garage floor was troweled, not brushed?

That said, I was planning on using this sprayer when I did my etch for my workshop and garage before I epoxy coat them. Did your sprayer cover the surface pretty evenly, or did you have to use a squeegee or anything to spread it out evenly? Or did it just lay out evenly on its own?

I have a power sprayer (Milwaukeee M18), but I don't want to use it for any of this work. Etch is acidic, and while I clean it out well, I don't want to chance that the sealer will gum up the internals. Although, I guess I can take the better wand off and put it on my manual sprayer....

 

[DaChev]

I had the same experience with 137. I also found that it has completely left my concrete after 3 years. Reapplication every 3 years would eliminate my ability to retire.

You really need to apply a densifier first. That would reduce how much it soaks in. Then you would be better off with a seperate sealer.

Just like a dual sport dirtbike. It isn't that great on road, and isn't that great off road. Sometimes you just cannot put two things into one.

 

[67King]

You really need to apply a densifier first. That would reduce how much it soaks in. Then you would be better off with a seperate sealer.

On a brushed surface? I thought you really only used those on polished or power troweled surfaces?

 

[DaChev]

Densifier creates a chemical reaction with the lime in the concrete. The result is calcium silicate hydrate that fills the pores and hardens the concrete as deep as you can get the densifier to soak in.

The chemical reaction does not care what the surface finish it. Have you ever seen a driveway after someone powerwashes it every year? They remove the top layer of the matrix. Imagine if you densified the driveway. You get less mold growth so you need to power wash less. When you do power wash, less aggressive pressure is required. The surface of the concrete is stronger and less is removed.

I wonder why everyone doesn't densify a driveway. You better not be buying densifier that is $100 a gallon for a driveway.