When I power wash the patio it looks beautiful, all the colors of the stones come out and shine when wet but once dry, it just looks dingy and dirty. I was told there is a "sealer" that I can roll on after cleaning to make it shine. What is this and what is the proper way to apply it? It is a big covered patio, about 12X20 and also has 3 steps with the top step about 4X6 so the easier the better. Someone said just to roll on some poly but I know that will just flake off with time and be a big mess down the road plus wouldn't that make it very slippery? I don't want people falling up if they come when it is raining!

Lastly, there are 2 small hole where over the years the stones have come out so what is the best way to fill those before I treat the patio?

 

Call a local contractor's supply (not a big box store) and ask them to recommend a concrete sealer for exposed aggregate. If it's legal to use in your area, they should sell you a solvent based acrylic sealer with about 25-30% solids content and UV inhibitors. Water based acrylic sealers do not hold up as long outdoors nor have the same shine as solvent based ones. There are even some sealers made specifically for exposed aggregate and come slightly brown-tinted.
If you don't want it to be so slippery, go to your local Sherwin Williams paint store and ask for H&C Shark Grip. It is an anti-skid additive you mix into the sealer to give it the feel of very fine sandpaper. It is invisible on the finished job but works great.
Before you seal, it is a great idea to thoroughly clean the concrete by pressure washing and allowing to dry for a MINIMUM of 24 hours. Do not be fooled into thinking that just because it looks and feels dry, it is dry enough. It's not.
After 24 hours, mix the shark grip and sealer and roll on as thin as possible with a paint roller. Do not apply too thickly or allow it to puddle.
If you don't know what you're doing, it may be best to just let the holes go. If you attempt to patch it, it will look like a patch. Good luck.

Pecos

 

Hey Pecos! Thanks so much. I just knew someone here would be able to help me. I can not wait to do this job, it will make such a difference to my front entry!

One more hint please? Every time I go to buy something, it is a big hassle if I don't know a "brand" name because the sales people look at me as if I am crazy. Can you tell me one or 2 names of "a solvent based acrylic sealer with about 25-30% solids content and UV inhibitors" product to ask for?

Also, how much H&C Shark Grip do I mix in, will it say on the can? (not kidding about the unreliable help at all of these stores!)

 

There are different products available in different parts of the country, so what I suggest may not be locally available. However, the brand I use is called Aggreseal Supreme by Surface Koatings. They have a brown formulation as well as clear. Another larger brand name is Super Diamond Clear by Euclid Chemical. Remember, you will NOT find either of these at a big box or a paint store. They are contractor grade products and are available at a contractor's supplies only. Folks at contractor's supply houses are professionals who are usually MUCH more knowledgeable about what they sell than someone who works at HD, etc. The big boxes are geared toward homeowners and the products they carry are typically inferior to those that professionals use, with a few exceptions.
You add one large bottle of Shark Grip to a 5 gallon can of sealer. It will say so on the bottle as well. Make sure to mix it until there are NO LUMPS AT ALL! And don't fudge on the drying time, or you will have sealer problems (sealer turning hazy or white). Good luck.

Pecos

 

Thanks again Pecos! Even though we are in a tiny town, luckily there is one good contractor supply store so I will print out your reply and take it with me. I still have a few projects I am working on ahead of this one but I bet this will make a dramatic impact with not too much effort!

The two awful jobs that are taking up most of my time right now are: redoing the bathroom walls after stripping off the 30 year old wallpaper and remortaring (is that even a word?) the stone fireplace. That fireplace job has to be the most time consuming ever. I am sure there are easier ways to do it but I have tried just about everything from the "pastry" type bags but the best method so far seems to be to make little playdough type snakes of the mortar and mush them in. I have put in over 10 hours so far and only have one side and 1/2 the bottom done. I would give up because it doesn't even look that much better but the new mortar is lighter than the old so now I am committed to doing the whole thing. I can only stand to do a couple hours at a time though so it is one of those jobs that is just dragging on and on and on so I switch off between that and washing the glue from the wallpaper. I just do a patch at a time because it is so thick and I never figured out a short cut for the rinsing over and over.

 

Pecos, We had a contractor come out an reseal our stamped concrete patio. It looked great the first couple of days but after a week, it started to look hazy. After 2 weeks it became very white & cloudy. He is blaming it on the Salt Water pool but the concrete looks great next to the pool and cloudy 30 ft away from the pool, so I don't buy his story. He is telling me that to fix it he wants to charge me extra for stripping the sealant and redoing it.

Do you have any ideas on what could be causing the hazy look? I can send you pictures if you like.

 

Was the sealer solvent based (goes on clear and very stinky), or water based (goes on milky and no/low odor)? I'll assume solvent based for this answer.
Cloudy sealer is almost always caused by trapped moisture. Either your contractor did not wait a full 24 hours after washing it to seal (so the concrete wasn't really dry), or you have water vapor rising from the slab and getting trapped between the concrete surface and the layer of sealer. Just waiting until the concrete LOOKS dry is not enough before applying sealer. It has to BE dry, and that means waiting a day between cleaning and sealing. Also, if someone applies too high a build-up of sealer, it can cause problems as well. Thick sealer isn't permeable so it doesn't allow water vapor to evaporate. Sealer should be applied as thinly as possible.
A simple fix that may take care of the problem permanently is to spray a heavy coat of Xylene (Xylol) on the whitened sealer and just wait until it dries (about 30 minutes usually). You don't need to agitate it or anything, just spray it on heavy and let it do its thing. The xylene (a solvent) will break down the sealer, let the water vapor escape, and dry clear. In order to spray xylene, you will either need an all metal sprayer with viton seals or opt for a cheap plastic one from Lowes that will be ruined after the xylene. I have used a Lowes cheapy (Spectracide brand) to do this and it worked, but the solvent ate up the wand workings in short order if I didn't immediately empty and clean the sprayer.
If your problem is vapor continually rising up and becoming trapped, then this will only be a temporary fix. If it was applicator error, this may permanently fix the problem. FYI xylene is about $18 per gallon at any hardware, home improvement, or paint store. Good luck.

 

Thanks Pecos, Yes he said it was a solvent based sealer.

He came out yesterday and applied a layer of Xylene to a couple of the spots using a brush and those spots do look better. Should I wait a week or so to make sure that the moisture does not return?

According to your response I guess brush application of the Xylene is not recommended. Can you please verify?

On the original application he did back in May he added aluminum to the final coat to give it a non-slip surface. When we came back out to redo the area he did not do the same so some spots are now slippery next to the pool. Does it make sense to add the Shark Grip to the Xylene in order to get back the non-slip surface or will just applying the Xylene get the surface back to its original state?

 

You can apply the xylene with a brush, but I think it's faster and easier to do with a sprayer. As to the non-slip additive...It may help to sprinkle it on top of the slab right after applying the xylene, but I don't think it would actually mix with xylene very well prior to application.