A bit of education about concrete sealers and the process of resealing your curbs
The purpose of concrete sealer on stamped concrete is to preserve the secondary release colour/s from wear and deterioration from exposure to the elements. Sealant penetrates into the pores of the concrete and provides a UV light and water resistant barrier, and a low to high gloss coating to preserve and enhance the colours used. See wikipedia article on concrete sealers.
There are a variety of concrete sealers available, but we have opted to use the same sealers as are used on most driveways and sidewalks by other local contractors. So usually you can use the same product on all your stamped or exposed aggregate concrete surfaces.
We use a petroleum based acrylic sealer. Usually Unicon or Conspec house branded sealer. We recommend use of UNISEAL or Conspec 15% Truseal only, as the higher gloss sealers are more prone to peeling if not applied under ideal conditions. Available at Unicon (north side) or Conspec (south side)_. Also Brock White and National Concrete accessories. This type of sealer can be applied with a brush, roller or pump sprayer. Brush application is preferred because an ordinary pump sprayer cannot handle the powerful solvents used.
If you can’t get petroleum based sealers, then home improvement stores can set you up with a water based acrylic sealer that performs only about 1/3 as well. In the gallery at the bottom of the page, were are using Stone Mason brand water based sealers available at Home Depot. It goes on bluish-white then turns clear.
For homeowner’s application, we recommend the use of a 4” cheap paintbrush that can be disposed of when the job is done. A 4 liter can of sealer will do about 400 feet of curb one coat. Cost is around $48 per 4 litres.
Apply the sealant after a week or two from initial installation, but BEFORE it gets too cold in the autumn. 12 degrees celsius minimum. Apply only if it has not rained or been wet in the past 24-48 hours. The concrete must be DRY! Do not seal in layers of dirt or dust- but the odd bit won’t hurt. We brush off dust and debris with a dry car wash brush before sealing. Sealant dries very quickly, so rain a couple of hours later won’t hurt it.
Click this link to our download page on sealing: Curb Care Info Word doc
Sealant sprayer- Hard to keep in good working order.
The "freckles" are telling you its soon time for sealant
these "freckles" are not too bad yet but let's seal it anyway
you can see the old sealant is breaking down
first, free up the front edge ( see" edging")
clean dirt and debris off with a dry brush If you have to wash, you have to let it dry for a DAY
we actually prefer OIL base sealer but this will do
water based sealers go on white or bluish then dry clear
use a cheap brush. two light coats better than one heavy one
brush out those puddles
sealant has dried now
notice that the freckles are gone!
Unfortunately this water base sealer will last only a year. Use oil base to go 3 years
even this neglected curb will heal nicely with sealant
after resealing its lots better
even this big chip will be hidden a lot with a coat of sealer
big chip in curb doesn't show much because of integral colour
this badly neglected sealant may need professional help to get it dark again
needs professional help