Technical Information

What is a wet look sealer? That is a great question, and unfortunatly the answer will vary from one manufacturer to the next. For this reason, it is always suggested to thoroughly read product descriptions, and try products on a test area, before purchasing in bulk, or applying to your concrete and pavers.

We define a wet look sealer as a sealer darkens the surface to give it a similiar appearance to being wet. Gloss aside, wet look sealers are designed to enhance concrete and paver surfaces by darkening the natural color of the substrate. If you like the look or your concrete or pavers after they have been wet with water, you will love how a wet look sealer transforms them!

Foundation Armor manufactures a few different wet look sealers:

• Armor AR350: The Armor AR350 will darken the color of the concrete and pavers, and enhance with a low gloss finish. 
• Armor AR500: The Armor AR500 will darken the color of the concrete and pavers, and

Penetrating garage floor sealers are sealers that penetrate into the garage floor and chemically react without changing the look or color of the garage floor. They are designed to protect the concrete without changing the look or color, and reduce issues such as cracking, spalling, pitting, staining, mold and mildew, and efflorescence.

The two best penetrating garage floor sealers are concrete densifiers and water repellent sealers. While both types of penetrating sealers fall under the same category, they couldn't be more different in terms of performance abilities. 

Concrete Densifiers: Concrete densifiers chemically react to form calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) within the pores. CSH looks like tiny white crystals, and they continue to grow within the pores for up to 90 days after application. Concrete densifiers increase the density of the concrete, therefore increasing the strength. Concrete densifiers are used to strengthen weak concrete, reduce

How long does it take concrete esaler to dry? The amount of time it takes for concrete sealers to dry will depend on the type of concrete sealer used.

• Silicate Concrete Sealers: Silicate sealers are used to reduce dusting and increase the surface strength of the concrete. They won't change the look or color of the concrete and work entirely below the surface. Silicate concrete sealers will appear to have dried in as little as 30 minutes, but they will continue to react below the surface for up to 90 days. Typically you can walk on concrete sealed with a silicate sealer in as little as a few hours.
• Silane Siloxane Water Repellent Sealers: Silane-Siloxane sealers are used to reduce damage, deterioration, and staining caused by water

You will need to seal your driveway every 1-10 years depending on the type of driveway sealer used. The most common types of driveway sealers for concrete, brick, aggregate, and paver driveways are:

• Silicate Concrete Sealers: Apply once and it lasts a lifetime.
• Silane Siloxane Water Repellent Sealers: Will require reapplication every 7-10 years.
• Siliconate Water Repellent Sealers: Will require reapplication every 7-10 years.
• Acrylic Concrete Sealers: Will require

Best Concrete Driveway Sealers

The best concrete driveway sealer for your concrete driveway will depend on what you want the concrete driveway to look like once sealed, and your reason for sealing.

Look of the Concrete Driveway

If you want your concrete driveway to look unsealed, and you don't want a wet look, low gloss, or high gloss finish, then you want a penetrating concrete sealer. Penetrating concrete sealers work entirely below the surface without changing the look, color, or finish of the concrete driveway.

The two most common types of penetrating concrete sealers are concrete densifiers and water repellent sealers. Densifiers are designed to reduce dusting and deterioration by increasing the strength and density of the concrete, and

Concrete takes 28 days to fully cure and most concrete sealers require that the concrete is cured before sealing. There are however some sealers, referred to as Cure and Seals, that are designed specifically for concrete 2-28 days old. They are acrylic based sealers that contain Styrene and the Styrene makes the acrylic more resistant to moisture. Cure and Seals aid in the proper curing of the concrete, and they help to protect the concrete while curing.

• Armor WB15: Water based low gloss cure and seal.
• Armor WB25: Water based high gloss cure and seal.
• Armor LV25: Solvent based

There are several factors that contribute to how long a concrete sealer actually lasts for, but the life of many types of concrete sealers will fall into a very specific 

• Silicate Concrete Sealers: Silicate concrete sealers never break down. They spark a chemical reaction in the concrete in order to form a calcium silicate hydrate structure within the pores. Once that structure is formed, it can only be removed if the concrete itself is removed. 
• Silane Siloxane Water Repellent Sealers: Silane-Siloxane water repellent sealers will last anywhere from 6 months to 10 years depending on the quality of Silane-Siloxane sealer used, and the percent solids. Most low solids solutions found in store will last 6 monts to a year,

How long do concrete sealers last?

Well, there isn't just one blanket answer to that question. The actual life of a concrete sealer depends on the concrete sealer type, and and when the concrete sealer was applied, and what the concrete sealer was applied to.

Silicate Concrete Sealers: Silicate sealers last forever, and once applied, can only be removed if the concrete itself is removed. Silicate based sealers penetrate into the surface of the concrete where they chemically react to form a hardened crystal-like barrier within the pores. Once full reacted, there is no sealer left - all that is left is the crystalline barrier left behind from the chemical reaction. Silicate sealers do not change the look or color of the surface, and they don't leave behind a visible surface film. They work entirely within the pores to reduce the size of the pores and increase the strength and density of the concrete surface.

Siliconate Concrete Sealers: Siliconate

Concrete Discoloration – Dark Spots, Stripes, and Blotchy Concrete

Concrete discoloration comes in the form of dark spots, stripes, blotchy areas, and color differences. There are many causes of discoloration on a concrete surfaces and the solution will vary depending on the cause.

Discoloration Issues on New Concrete

Discoloration on the surface of new concrete can be from several factors including inconsistent mixtures, too much or not enough water, low quality materials, poor workmanship, the use of calcium chloride, environmental issues, or issues created during the pore or during the curing process. In some cases, the cause is quite evident, but in others, it is a pure guessing game. It is important to check with the concrete contractor, or concrete manufacturer, before attempting to remove dark spots from the surface.

The most common ways to remove dark spots include repeatedly flushing and scrubbing the surface with warm water or acid

Common Acrylic Concrete Sealer Problems & How To Prevent and Fix Them

Oil based acrylic sealers (a.k.a. solvent acrylic or wet look sealers) are commonly used on exterior and interior concrete for aesthetic appeal and concrete protection (e.g. resistance to abrasion, dusting, staining, cracking, spalling).  While application instructions are typically laid out on product tech data sheets, little to no info is provided on how to determine the cause of a coating problem and rectify the situation. Coating problems can include surface bubbles (aka solvent pop), peeling/flaking, white spots (aka blushing), fading (loss of shine).

SURFACE BUBBLES (AKA SOLVENT POP)

Surface bubbles (aka solvent pop) can occur during the coating application process when solvent is evaporating too quickly from a sealer.  Increased temperatures and direct sunlight are known contributors to surface bubbles.  Once cured, these bubbles are often fragile and will