So in 2009 i had a concrete patio poured and stamped. The installers put on a Powdered color hardener and release agent. There was a faux brick edge that was slightly darker than the majority of the patio. They then sealed the patio with Dayton Superior J23 Cure and seal. That same September I had them come out and apply a new coat of sealer before winter.

The sealer they used didnt really seem to last that long so I called up a different company that had good references to put down a better sealer. They cleaned and pressure washed the patio like they were supposed to and then put down the new sealer. While it was wet it looked great, then the sealer slowly started to bubble all over the place. They came back out a few days later and thinned the sealer that was down with xylene. The sealer bubbled again.

The other day They came back out to try and resolve this issue by using a different product. So they said they had to completely strip off the old sealer and reseal the patio. They spent hours using xylene to get the old sealer off. While they were working i noticed the patio was getting lighter but I recalled, and have pictures, that when it was first installed the color was not that vibrant either. Well they finished stripping the old sealer off and resealed it. The color is completely different than it was, there is no more darker border on the faux bricks and the main part of the patio is lighter than before also. I promptly called them up and they keep telling me that the other people must have used a color sealer. I insisted that they didnt, because i took a picture of the sealer that was initially applied.

Should the xylene have removed the color? Why would this happen? How else can I proceed?
Thanks

 

I'm not a fan of sealing cement or bricks & your story is just one more reason why. I know you don't want to hear it but I would remove all of the sealer & leave it alone.

 

The stripper (xylene) could have removed some of the release agent color. In my opinion, most contractors do not remove enough of the release agent prior to sealing. Then, when the sealer deteriorates or is stripped, it takes more of the release agent off with it, leaving the patio lighter. How did the original contractor clean the release before they sealed it? If they just sprayed it with a hose or pressure washed it, then probably not enough was removed, and it was bound to get lighter when the sealer was stripped.

 

I think the original installers left some of the release on there to get the desired color and didnt pressure wash as much off the border to give it that darker look, then the xylene just took it all down to the base color. What would be the best resolution?
Thanks

 

First, get with the original installers and ask their opinion. They know what they did better than we do. Why did you contact the second contractor (to seal it again) instead of getting the first guy back? When you say the sealer didn't seem to last very long, what do you mean? Was it actually coming off (unlikely) or just looking dull (common because the sealer wears and loses some of its shine). Over-applying sealer is worse than applying none at all.
I've never heard of sealer bubbling up days later. If it happens, it would usually happen the same day due to the sealer skinning over and the slab continuing to outgas. My guess is that it was incompatible with the original sealer or that they applied it wrong. What was the name of the new sealer applied?
Stamped concrete can be re-antiqued, but it should be done by a qualified contractor so as to be done correctly, and also because only they can get the needed supplies.

 

Thanks, I am in contact with the original installer. I had a different company re-seal because the sealer the first company used when they resealed months later was just a cure and seal and yes it was looking dull after the winter. The new company used a bomanite sealer, whihc bubbled up the same day, they came back a few days later to try to thin it with xylene and it bubbled again, so yes it sounds like it was incompatible with the old sealer, or they over applied it. They said this same sealer had bubbled up on them on a couple other jobs this year but not in the past. The new sealer they applied was from Euclid Chemical, and it only had a few bubbles, but it was now applied to the slab with no other sealer down.

Why is over applying sealer worse, I thought I was doing the right thing by having it sealed again.

 

The sealer has to be able to allow for evaporation of moisture coming up through the concrete. When moisture wicks up, it comes in contact with the bottom of the seal coat. If the sealer was applied correctly, the vapor can evaporate. If the sealer is applied too thick, the moisture gets trapped under the sealer and causes "blushing" or whitening of the sealer from below. This not only looks awful, but can cause the sealer to delaminate too.

 

we occasionally install stamped conc,,, while those jobs are rare, we don't get them because our prices/costs are higher,,, reason being our technique's MUCH different,,, we do NOT use color'd hardener NOR release powder,,, since they're only fine ground white cement w/color, they'll not work well when bullfloated or troweled into the surface,,, liquid release is MUCH better,,, when the 'crete's 30d old, we come back, clean, add color, & seal w/methyl-methacrylate sealer ( ' CSS ' )

now, on to yours dayton's product breathes very little - that's why its a ' cure ' sealer,,, we use it on commercial-dot-etc projects IF nec,,, b-tite went belly-up last yr but they're licensees were competent,,, it MAY be the loss of b-tite products caused some to dither about looking for acceptable substitutes,,, some have switched to eliteCrete joining us guys

another issue - you need to have a breathable sealer,,, i used aliphatic urethane on ours & it went cloudy in a yr after lotsa rain here in atl - not breathable & no vapor barrier under the d/w ( typical d/w const ),,, my bride, nagzilla, was displeased so had to remove it & reseal,,, now she beams

the nice thing about our/eC's system's that its wtr-based,,, see what you can find google is your friend !

bubbles mean moisture OR incompatibility,,, xylene will remove solvent-based color

 

Thanks for all of the input, hopefully I can get it looking how it did last year.