Solvent Based Acrylic Sealer....What Next?

[heymack]

I'm finishing up the build of my new 4,000 sf shop. I acid stained the concrete slab then applied two coats of 25% solids, solvent based acrylic sealer. It turned out great, albeit after some fairly aggressive activities within the building, the floor looks terrible (scratches), so I think I made a bad decision with respect to the sealer. I especially worry about long-term durability. I'd like to get the floor fairly uniform looking then topcoat with a different, more durable product. As you can imagine, I have a ton of money in this shop, so looking for something fairly economical, however I'm very particular and want to be proud of finished product.

What can I do to remedy this? Can I buff or burnish then apply a different topcoat?

Thanks!

 

[bigjon]

If you were happy with it after the initial application just give it a clean and apply the acrylic sealer again. If you want to do a different coating you will need to remove the acrylic sealer entirely.

 

[benwah]

Microfiber mop on a healthy coat or two of a water-based urethane sealer. I'm sure the guys on here have something. I use something like Envirofloor Reflection

 

[Mike65]

After letting the concrete floor cure I pressure washed it & let it dry completely then a week later I applied Foundation Armor SX5000WB. It is silane siloxane clear matte transparent concrete sealer. It made the color of the concrete a little darker, but there is no shine. I have a couple chairs in the shop & if I slide them on the floor they will scuff the floor.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Foundation...-Pavers-Brick-and-Masonry-1-Gallon/5001926873

 

[heymack]

If you were happy with it after the initial application just give it a clean and apply the acrylic sealer again. If you want to do a different coating you will need to remove the acrylic sealer entirely.

I love the look, but it's just not durable enough and I really don't want to worry about scuffing it for the next ** years. We built out a 600 SF portion of it this weekend and dragging boards and tools around added more scratches. I'm worried removal is the only option.....yikes!

 

[heymack]

Microfiber mop on a healthy coat or two of a water-based urethane sealer. I'm sure the guys on here have something. I use something like Envirofloor Reflection

I like the idea, but worry about adhesion. With two coats of sealer, water does not penetrate at all. Does the urethane sealer sit on top of the acrylic sealer?

 

[heymack]

After letting the concrete floor cure I pressure washed it & let it dry completely then a week later I applied Foundation Armor SX5000WB. It is silane siloxane clear matte transparent concrete sealer. It made the color of the concrete a little darker, but there is no shine. I have a couple chairs in the shop & if I slide them on the floor they will scuff the floor.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Foundation...-Pavers-Brick-and-Masonry-1-Gallon/5001926873

This sounds familiar.....

 

[benwah]

I like the idea, but worry about adhesion. With two coats of sealer, water does not penetrate at all. Does the urethane sealer sit on top of the acrylic sealer?

Yes it sits on top of the acrylic. I do this often to refresh floors that contractors use Cure&Seal on.

I am not 100% if it will work with this product, so you may want to sample a product with a test area.

It is a "maintenance" coat, so it will have to be done when you want the floor refreshed.

I don't have a before pic, but let me tell you this floor was scratched to hell from contractors. Applied 2 coats a by mop and this is what it looks like now. The large scratches are still there but much much less noticeable.

EDIT: Just realized the sealer you used is silane/siloxane, this method may not work. My advice would be to contact the manufacturers Technical Service help line and ask if this can be topcoated, and with what.

 

[heymack]

Thanks benwah, those floors look great. Any prep (other than cleaning) before mopping on the product?

I realize my building is a shop and will be used fairly hard, so it doesn't have to be perfect all the time. I checked out the Envirofloor Reflection. It's definitely cost friendly.

 

[tncatadjuster]

Going over a silane/siloxaine sealer is a real challenge or has been in the past. Please be careful and get the manufacturer’s approval.

 

[Armorpoxy]

We would recommend giving it a good cleaning, buff with 3M type pad and recoat the sealer to even things out. Then, apply a coat of Ballistix which we carry to prevent further stains and marking and will give it the scratch resistance of a high performance urethane or polyaspartic. That being said there is no 'scratch proof' floor made so aggressive actions on the floor will scratch anything.

 

[heymack]

OK, now I'm confused with the "silane/siloxaine sealer" comments. I didn't specifically mention this, so are all solvent based acrylic sealers inherently silane/siloxaine sealers?

Armorpoxy, I like the Ballistix concept, but have seen where you posted that it may not work too well over solvent based acrylics. Before I drop big bucks, I'd like some assurance.

 

[Shea]

OK, now I'm confused with the "silane/siloxaine sealer" comments. I didn't specifically mention this, so are all solvent based acrylic sealers inherently silane/siloxaine sealers?

Armorpoxy, I like the Ballistix concept, but have seen where you posted that it may not work too well over solvent based acrylics. Before I drop big bucks, I'd like some assurance.

We have actually been keeping a close eye on Ballistix. I had the opportunity to speak with ArmorPoxy and a Ballistix rep in order to answer the many questions we had and have learned quite a bit. We will be doing a review with our own testing sometime in the near future. I've just chosen to stay out of these conversations since we have not worked with it yet.

That said, I believe the issue ArmorPoxy is speaking to in regards to solvent-based coatings is that they need to be fully cured before Ballistix is applied. That can take more than a few days. Applying it before the solvents have completely flashed can cause adhesion and cosmetic issues. There are ways to prep and stunt the solvent flash time, but that is best left for the pros and not DIY. If your coating is fully cured and you prep as they directed you shouldn't have a problem. I would recommend contacting them directly to verify.

 

[benwah]

OK, now I'm confused with the "silane/siloxaine sealer" comments. I didn't specifically mention this, so are all solvent based acrylic sealers inherently silane/siloxaine sealers?

No sorry, Mike65 asked a similar question and I thought it was you (OP). His question mentioned the silane/siloxane.. So please disregard that part.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi All,
To clarify, Ballistix will stick to virtually any clean, dry surface that is not curing or outgassing. For outdoor use the best practice is to apply it directly to concrete for the best bond. The downside of this method is that often the concrete is very porous so you could need 2-3 coats of this not inexpensive coating to get an even finish, but you would end up with an incredibly durable surface that would last 5-10x longer than a standard sealer outdoors which tend to break down in 1-2 years from the UV.

Indoors we have had tremendous success, and be able to save our customers money by first using 1-2 coats of our ARM8400X water based sealer. Solvent based acrylic sealers work fine also but in either case they must be fully cured which can take 24-48 hours depending on conditions.

Ghostshield (which we carry) is not a traditional acrylic sealer it has silicones and flourocarbons (teflon type material) that will resist the application of Ballistix and they are not compatible products. Also since Ghostshield penetrates, and not topical like sealers, it's almost impossible to remove to then apply Ballistix. Ballistix will not adhere to products with silicone or similar type resistive additives. Ghostshield is a great product for protecting the floor from liquids and since it's penetrating doesn't change the surface at all so it's great for where there is lots of welding, but you need protection but don't want the floor damaged from welding.

While on this topic, if applying Ballistix directly to epoxy or urethane, please make sure that the surface is fully cured (at least a week) and properly prepped with the Iso99 and if applying in less than a week different prep procedures using several buff pads and Iso99 are needed and we can assist so contact us directly at below for guidance and instructions.

Ballistix does adhere right away with minimal prep to polyaspartics that have cured just an hour or two. Many of our professional garage installers are now using Ballistix as an additional topcoat to stop tire staining and marking and applying to polyaspartic topcoat so they don't have to do the additional urethane or epoxy prep, or wait the week for curing.

 

[heymack]

Thanks for the clarifications and added details.