What do professionals do, to achieve better concrete?
Concrete Curing – keep the concrete hydrated for as long as possible
Prevent Surface Cracking – reduce rapid moisture loss
Protect finished concrete from other trades and reduce end of job defects
Concrete Sealer Pro Seal 896, for Quality Builders / Developers
Concrete Sealer with cure assist – Pro Seal 896 is spray applied to wet surfaces without rollers, always on a wet surface. This method keeps the surface temperature down and helps the concrete sealer penetrate deep into the surface. Don’t wait 28 days to seal your concrete, seal and cure assist in one application with Pro Seal 896.
Water Based versus Solvent Based Sealers Read more…
Dusting, chalky or powder concrete slabs or floors are a problem in many respects. Dusty concrete surfaces are not only a construction problem, it is also dangerous to have around the home or on the construction site. Dusting concrete can be caused by a number of things;
Extra water added to premix delivery at the site
Overworking the surface at installation
Rain affected new concrete pours
Rushed finishing of the concrete by concreters
Rapid moisture loss
Incorrect curing methods
The Health Risks of Concrete Dust(from the CEP Civil Engineering Portal)
Many types of cement contain other hazardous substances like lime, nickel, cobalt, and chromium compounds. Alkaline substances are corrosive to human tissues and small amounts of chromium can cause an allergic reaction.
Concrete dusting may irritate the nose, throat, and respiratory tract by mechanical abrasion, causing coughing, sneezing, and shortness of breath. Concrete dust may cause chronic bronchitis or aggravate pre-existing lung diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma.
After prolonged exposure, respirable concrete dust can cause severe damage to human lungs. Crystalline silica has been classified as a human lung carcinogen. In addition, it can cause silicosis, which is incurable. More commonly, silica dust causes the formation of scar tissue in the lungs, reducing their ability to take in oxygen.
How to Prevent a Dusting Concrete or a Powdery Concrete Slab
Do not add extra water to premix delivery
Do not overwork the surface at installation
Cover with plastic before rain effects the concrete pour
Rushed finishing of the concrete by concreters
Prevent Rapid moisture loss by using a curing aid
Use Pro Seal 896 to seal and cure assist new concrete day of pour
How to Fix a Dusting or Powdery Concrete Slab using Pro Seal 896
What do professionals do, to achieve better concrete?
Concrete Curing – keep the concrete hydrated for as long as possible
Prevent Surface Cracking – reduce rapid moisture loss
Protect finished concrete from other trades and reduce end of job defects
Concrete Sealer Pro Seal 896, for Quality Builders / Developers
Concrete Sealer with cure assist – Pro Seal 896 is spray applied to wet surfaces without rollers, always on a wet surface. This method keeps the surface temperature down and helps the concrete sealer penetrate deep into the surface. Don’t wait 28 days to seal your concrete, seal and cure assist in one application with Pro Seal 896.
Water Based Sealers – New Standards for Safe Effective Concrete Sealing
One common misconception we come across is that people believe solvent based concrete sealer products are inherently superior in some way or another to water-based concrete sealers. When I ask people why they believe this is the case I get all kinds of responses ranging from “…everybody knows that!” to “won’t waterbased ones get washed away when it rains?”. One of my favourites is “because a wise old man (grandfather/uncle / old guy down the street) told me so”.
What is a solvent?
Before we go any further I need to qualify what is meant by a “solvent based” product. The Oxford dictionary defines a solvent as “The liquid in which a solute is dissolved to form a solution”. As such the most abundant solvent on earth is water and the biggest solution would be the world’s oceans. However, the word solvent is one that has been hijacked by the paint industry to mean something far more specific than it’s actual meaning. By convention “solvent based concrete sealers” or coating, is one that contains an organic solvent, that is one that is derived from oil. Well known examples include xylene, mineral turpentine, and “thinners”.
What does a solvent do?
Now, all types of coating contain, at a minimum, a binder (solute) and a dilutant (solvent). The binder, as the name implies, is what makes the coating stick to stuff. A coating needs to stick to whatever you want to coat and also to itself so it can form a continuous film. The dilutant is there to carry the binder in a liquid that can be easily applied and to physically disperse the binder enough to stop it from binding before it’s ready for use. After the coating is applied the dilutant evaporates away and the binder is free to do its thing.
So the ironic thing here is that ironically people make a judgement about the quality of a coating on the stuff that evaporates away! It doesn’t even exist in the finished product and as such has almost no bearing on the quality, performance or durability of the penetrating sealer or coating. It is far more important to consider the chemical properties of the binder when determining the quality of a penetrating sealer or coating.
Which solvent is the best?
The biggest consideration in deciding between water-based and “solvent” based therefore is cost, health & safety and impacts on the environment. In each of these key areas, water comes out on top. It is the most abundant solvent on earth, so it’s cheap and it can’t hurt you or the environment. Organic solvents , by comparison, re expensive to produce and use; plus they can be extremely harmful to your health and the environment.
The health effects of organic solvent exposure are many and diverse. Common isues are respiratory irritation, headaches and increased chemical sensitivities. More severe are mental health problems, infertility, cancer and even instances of sudden death! The biggest impacts to the environment from solvents are related to cleanup. You cannot just clean your equipment with water so you need to use more organic solvent to cleanup. Disposal of such residuals is costly and unfortunately many people don’t dispose of them as they should. Alternatively, many people just move to single use brushes and rollers that they throw out at the end of the job. These fill up landfill and leach the remaining traces of solvent into the groundwater.
Do the right thing. Choose top quality coatings that won’t harm you or the planet.
Grouting your polished concrete is usually a tough gig. To really get a great polished concrete surface finish, you need to grout the slab. People do grouting many different ways. When I polished concrete the following process usually results in a smooth finish.
grind the surface to the desired finish (salt and pepper or full stone exposure)
Effective Concrete Sealing for Large Car Parks, Driveways and Pathways
Introducing the Commercial Spray Unit (CSU).
by Water Based Sealers Pty. Ltd.
Concrete Sealer WBS Pro Seal 896 is engineered for large area concrete sealing. Sealing concrete quickly and efficiently is what we do best. Once you are trained by WBS to use our CSU sealing system you won’t look back.
Throughout 10 years of Pro Seal 896 research and development, we found we were consistently being slowed down by our application equipment. The only way we could fully optimise application and unlock the true cost advantages of this outstanding concrete sealer was to design and built our own equipment. The WBS CSU is built for strength and speed. Once a slab is prepared and ready to go you can seal 500m2 per hour without breaking a sweat. Better yet, it’s completely stand alone so you don’t need to drag around an air hose or a power cord.
The CSU is made in Australia for tough, on-site conditions.
SPECIAL OFFER-
Purchase your CSU with a Bucket of Pro Seal 896 for just $2265 +GST.
You will receive free Certified Applicator Training (normally $800 per person).
Remember:
Free Certified Applicator Training Normally $800 per person
19 Litre Pro Seal 896 & CSU will seal 500m2 in 1 hour after preparation.
Average concrete sealing rates are $6 – $10 per meter ($3000 + Per Bucket)
