Staining your concrete inherently involves a choice of what to use as a sealer. Without sealer, concrete stain can lose color in high traffic areas, yet properly sealed and maintained, stained concrete will give the same beautiful appearance for years to come. It is extremely durable and requires very little maintenance. We recommend two coats of seal, followed by two coats of polish or one coat of wax as the finish for your floor.

 

 

 

For interior surfaces, we use what is called a solvent-based sealer. We do not use the water-based sealers due to their failure to adequately seal the concrete surface. The solvent-based sealer significantly darkens the concrete surface and we apply two coats for added protection. After this has been applied, the sealer needs to dry overnight before we can apply the maintanence coat of polish. There is another type of sealer called a penetrating sealer. This type of sealer is used on exterior surfaces like swimming pool decks, sidewalks, patios, and driveways. There are two kinds of penetrating sealer: one that darkens and enriches the concrete and one that doesn't change the look of the concrete at all. Both types provide a non-slip surface that allows moisture to escape from the subgrade, which means moisture does not get trapped and cause the sealer to turn white and cloudy. Although it is more expensive, we recommend and have had good success with the option that darkens the concrete.

We highly recommend going with a polish as the sacrifice coat for your floors. For interior concrete, we apply one coat of polish for free to get you started on your efforts to protect your new floors. A polish is just as good as a wax. The only difference is, it has to be repolished more often, but this is cheap and simple to do. A polish finish is great for customers who want to maintain the floors themselves and it can save you money. A polish does not require a buffer, just a bucket and a pad applicator or sponge mop and comes in a satin or gloss finish. Alternatively, the wax finish has a low sheen, much like a satin or eggshell. Wax is applied with a floor buffer, which is something you will need to hire a professional to do every 2-3 yrs.

 

Here's the best part...it is up to you how long you keep your floors looking as if you just had them done yesterday. Pay close attention to the high traffic areas. If these areas look much duller than the surrounding areas, and the stain itself starts to appear different, you've waiting too long to protect your floors. For more detailed maintenance and aftercare info, visit our Info & Answers section.