When to seal new concrete?

[D KRAGER]

Ok poured the shop floor a month ago. Want to seal with just clear sealer. They say 30 days, then seal, but it needs to have 50 degree surface temp. That is going to be pretty hard to do, I can get the air temp to 60 or so, but I don't think the concrete will be that warm. I have a pole building that is not insulated very well yet.

The quesion is... Will it hurt anything to wait til next summer to seal it, or will there be any other steps involved (extra cleaners, etc.) or can you just pressure wash it and then seal it????

 

[Yotaforce]

Mine was sealed before the contractor left the site after finishing it. It's been a month and a half and water beads up on it and it's very "cleanable". I'm not sure about the whole 30 day thing. I know if you wait too long, I believe you have to clean it a certain way before you can seal it.

 

[Hammerdown]

Unless it is a cure and seal, which is applied to the frshly poured concrete immediately, you should wait an industry standard of 28 days brfore applying any sealers/coatings. If you wait until spring to apply it, you would have to clean and degrease the floor and make sure water could absorb into it prior to application. The only problem is that if you intend to use a clear sealer, it may show any stains that are made over the winter. A coating that is pigmented (colored) would have less likelyhood of showing any stains.

 

[D KRAGER]

That's kinda what I thought.

I might try to pick a few warmer days and leave the heat on and see if the slab stays above 50 and try to get in done now....

 

[Hammerdown]

If you have the patience to stay off the floor while the sealer fully cures, you could probably apply it at about 40 degrees. It will take longer for any product to cure the colder it is, so make sure not to use the floor until it is cured. I would bring the temps up and then shut down the heat. Apply the sealer and then wait until it its tack free (not sticky when touched). Once it is tack free, bring back up the temps. This is usually what I do for epoxy coatings, as they need to cure from the inside out and you do not want to make the surface dry before the rest of the coating, which an externally applied heat source has the tendancy to do. This can cause bubbling or wrinkling of the film as its medium evaporates. If you are using a product that is 100% solids, this would have less of an effect since there is very little/ no medium to evaporate.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

We have a product that will work. BondTite 1101 is a 100% solids clear Primer, Sealer, and Clearcoat with excellent low temperature cure properties. We advertise that it will cure at 40f. The cure times will be longer as Hammerdown stated. If you want information on it you can request it here: http://wolverinecoatings.com/html/contacts.html

 

[39 Ford]

Follow everyones advice and get it sealed before you start using it, if you wait it will get dirty it will be very hard to clean for sealing. 40 degrees should work but will take longer to cure. The cure protects the concrete from damage due to road salts, and garage solvents. Beg, borrow or rent a large temp heater to use for a few days you will be glad you did.

 

[oldgoat]

I'd have to wait until I home, but you can get a etching that will clean the floor in most cases. It is better that you do it as soon as possible though. My son in law taped a piece of saran wrap to the floor and the next day checked to see if any moisture was under it. The way I understand it that if it is dry then it is cured enough to treat. Even at that we had gone over the floor with the cleaner to remove residue.

 

[Keith1954]

Do you sell to a indivual?

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Do you sell to a indivual?

No... we don't... EXCEPT... if you are a member of Garage Journal. If you sent a request and did not mention Garage Journal there is a good chance that you got a message back that said that we only sold to certified applicators and large corporations.

Anyway, you MUST mention garage journal in this short request form:

http://wolverinecoatings.com/html/contacts.html