I had a new 25x15'colored stamped concrete patio poured. The contractor washed off the patio and only let it dry for 1 hour. He proceeded to use Behr "wet look " sealer #985 only after 4 days from the concrete being poured. The next day I noticed the sealer turned milky white everywhere. After pointing out to him on the directions he should of not put this on until 30 days after the concrete cured. Also he just got it wet. I told him he needed to get the sealer off and will do this later. He used a power washer and it seemed to reduce most of the whitish color. He tryed using a paint stripper before this but it took the dark highlights off the top so he stopped. Now 1 week later it cleared up a bit and doesnt look too bad considering before. After the concrete cures, I want a wet look the way I planned for this to turn out. Could I reseal another coat using the same sealer on top off the exisiting sealer? would this bring out the shine on the whats left of the first coat? or do I need to strip off all the other sealer using some other technique. I really want a nice shine, the way I imagined it to be but I am afraid to strip off anymore. Any suggestions would be great, thanks mike

 

A few pictures would be helpful, before meaningful suggestions are offered. And I'm curious why you're taking it upon yourself to perform corrective work of the contractor's screw-ups--he should be doing this, if he wants to get paid for the completed job. I'm sure it's costing plenty.

 

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html
I'd be a little leery of getting it too shiny - might be too slippery when wet

btw - welcome to the forums!

 

Hello, he did not appear to know much about sealer problems and issues(28 years of experience, had a good rep?). He did not charge me for the sealer appplication or cleanup. I was tempted to let him remove the sealer and reseal it but based on the small area he used stripper on, which it took off some of the highlights, I wanted him out and to be done. I did not want him to keep experimenting on my new colored concrete. He is paid and is out. So I will post a few pictures when I get a camera. It really doesn't look to bad but I really need to finish the seal project since pool water occasionally gets on this. Its 105F here this week so the concrete should be curing quick. He left me the sealer he used(which he blamed the sealer as the problem) I will try a small area behind the gate first to see what it looks like or use a different kind if it is compatable?. I just didn't want to be like him and start playing around too much before I received some ideas and opinions. Thanks for some help.

 

attached is what it looks like today after a 105F afternoon. Notice still the white colors. Please respond to previous comments.

Thanks, Mike

 

In reading the product data sheet for the Behr sealer he used, it says not to use it on concrete immediately adjacent to a pool (and also not to apply it for 30 days). Who chose this sealer for your application? Did you tell him to use it or did he pick it? If he picked it, it should be on him to resolve the issue. If you picked it, you have no one to blame but yourself for not researching it more.
I'd use the Behr stripper mentioned on their tech data sheet, strip the entire job, and reseal after 30 days with a sealer not susceptible to damage from pool water. I know the VOC laws in California are more strict that elsewhere in the US. You'll really have to do some research on a proper sealer you can legally use.
By the way, if the antiquing color is coming off with the stripper, it is not embedded in the paste of the concrete. It would have come off as soon as the acrylic sealer failed anyway, which would be in about 2 years. If the antiquing release had been more thoroughly removed when cleaning, more would not come off when stripping sealer.
I agree with the comment made about the concrete being too slippery if you go with a "wet look". It will be. At the very least you need to add a non-skid additive such as Shark Grip. There is an industry-wide misconception about stamped concrete that it should always look wet. It's perpetuated by magazines and websites showing glamour shots of newly sealed concrete. When it's brand new, of course it looks wet. Unfortunately, acrylic sealers are soft by nature, and as such they abrade easily. When this happens, it dulls the shine. If you want it to always look wet, you will be doing constant maintenance and re-sealing on it, which will create problems when you achieve too high a buildup of sealer.

 

No I did not choose the product. Yes I could fight this and make him take it all off but I made a decision based on other stuff that he be paid for his other work and be done. So I think the reason the highlight came of is that he used a power washer very very close and it took some of the concrete surface off. Alot of the sealer is still on the main area though. Should I try to apply the stripper to the rest and get it off. Also if I do this do I need to hand scrap it off or is there an easier way? Its a 15x25 ft large area. Or could I leave it on, let it sit for a few more weeks and then put on a less slippery sealer over it?

Thanks again for the information, Mike