When you are choosing a concrete stain product, you want to make sure you don’t have to keep redoing the job. Sunlight really affects the brightness and hue of the colour of the concrete over time. During summer, the sun’s rays will affect the colour of outdoor concrete, causing it to fade in a short space of time. One of the ways that professionals or homeowners can get around this is by using a UVA protected stain, such as the Smartcolour concrete stains from Adseal. These preserve your concrete colour from the sun rays. By investing in concrete sealing and concrete stain products that use UVA protection, money can be saved in the long term.

Concrete sealer

Concrete and Block paving Sealer provides a protective layer made from a blend of raw resins [known as solids] and a solvent. Together they provide protection from wear and tear and weather, although sealer’s also protect against other issues like weeds or fluid damage from spills.

Sealants work by either sitting on the surface and providing a layer that takes the damage, protecting the concrete beneath, by sinking into the porous concrete and filling in all the tiny gaps [capillaries] within the mix, or a combination of both.

Sealing concrete is an important final step in keeping your newly laid concrete or block paving in good condition with a protective layer of resin.

It is important to consider the quality of the sealer you are choosing; many people believe that the thicker the mix the better the resin, but that is incorrect – it is the quality and blend of resins that is important. Higher quality sealers are made from harder, more resilient resins which will look good and last for longer and are usually available direct from specialist sealant manufacturers

Benefits of a high quality concrete sealer.

• Protection from wear and tear in high traffic areas

• Protection from weather

• Protection from spillages and fluid damage

• Improves grip with an abrasive grip.

• Easy to clean surface

• Protects from weed growth

Coloured resin sealers are often used to ‘recolour’ or repair poorly finished surfaces. However, take care, as a resin sealer with enough colouring pigment in it to completely obliterate the surface below will have greatly reduced adhesion and the danger of early failure is an issue. Better to remove the existing sealer, STAIN the base with an Eco friendly water based stain [loads of colours available] and then seal with a good quality sealer.

When picking the right sealer for the job, be sure to get the right tools to apply it as well; best results come from using a pump up airless sprayer but it must have ‘viton’ seals to resist the solvent. Alternatively a brush or roller can be used but avoid any pooling or puddles forming.

A reputable supplier will provide full installation instructions rather than just a brief description on the side of a can.