It is always recommended that a sealant be applied to concrete floors. Concrete flooring can be found in various settings, including basements and patios, utility areas and areas that receive a lot of heavy equipment traffic, like garages and warehouses. Before applying a sealant, a concrete floor should be rinsed, scrubbed with a cleaning agent and rinsed again. The surface must be left to dry for at least 24 hours before applying sealant. One to three thin coats of sealant should be applied with a roller, similar to ones used for painting. After the application, the concrete surface should dry for up to 48 hours before it is walked on. Because they result in a very durable, hard surface, epoxies are traditionally used to seal concrete flooring. Applying epoxy can be tricky, however, as it dries very rapidly. Epoxy is a tough material, but it is vulnerable to ultraviolet light exposure, which can break down the chemicals in epoxy if it is not used with a UV inhibitor.
Concrete is often used to fashion kitchen and bathroom countertops. All countertops fashioned out of concrete should have a sealant applied to them. There are several types of concrete countertop sealants on the market. Examples of sealants used to seal concrete are densifiers like sodium silicates or potassium silicates, repellants like silanes or siloxanes, wax, solvent-based or water-based acrylic, solvent-based or water-based epoxy and urethane. Urethane, epoxy, and acrylic are all stain-resistant. Densifiers, repellants, acrylic and urethane are all heat resistant. Densifiers, repellants and urethane are all scratch-resistant sealants. Any number of sealants can be used alone or in tandem with other sealants to seal concrete countertops. As with concrete flooring, concrete countertops should be completely cured, cleaned, rinsed and dried before a sealant is applied. Sealing a concrete countertop is usually left to the fabricator. Since contractors usually form concrete countertops off-site from where they are to be installed, the sealant is usually applied before it is delivered to the customer.
As applying sealant can be easy if the manufacturer's instructions are strictly followed, do-it-yourself handymen may opt to apply sealant to their concrete surfaces themselves. Regardless of who is applying the sealant, it should be applied early in the life of the concrete surface, if not immediately after curing. After the initial coating of a sealant has been applied, the consumer should keep up with regular sealant applications as outlined by the manufacturer of a particular sealant.
Consumers who are concerned with their concrete surface getting stained should apply a layer of either urethane, epoxy or acrylic sealants to it, as these materials are stain-resistant. Consumers who hope for a concrete surface that is scratch-resistant should apply a layer of sodium silicate or silane to it, as these products have a reputation for making concrete very scratch resistant. Concrete areas that receive a lot of traffic from people or heavy equipment should have epoxy applied to them, as it increases the durability of the concrete surface. UV inhibitors should be applied over epoxy if the area receives generous amounts of sunlight during the day, as epoxy is vulnerable to deterioration in the presence of ultraviolet light.