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Manufacturers, distributors and retailers have introduced a lot of confusion in the acrylic market. Acrylics are categorized as a coating but marketed as a sealer. While acrylics to seal the surface, a sealer is defined as a penetrating chemical that stays and works entirely below the surface. A coating is defined as a product that bonds to the surface of the concrete and leaves behind a film, or “coating”. To set the record straight – acrylics are coatings, not sealers. Learn more about penetrating concrete sealers.

Now that you know what to search for when looking online, let’s move on to what to look for when searching for a product.

Suggested Products

Foundation Armor is a leading manufacture of concrete sealers and concrete coatings. The image provided in this article is of the Armor AR350 satin sheen concrete coating. Other products include the Armor AR500 (high gloss acrylic) and the Armor AX25 (high gloss siloxane modified acrylic).

Prosoco is a trusted manufacturer of concrete sealers and coatings. They primarily focus on water based products and carry a Glaze n’ Seal product for exterior applications.

WR Meadows is a trusted manufacturer of concrete and ashalt sealers and coatings. They manufacture the HIAC acrylic sealer.

Okon is a trusted manufacturer of concrete sealers and coatings. They manufacture the Seal & Finish concrete sealer.

Designed to Last

Acrylics are the best type of coating you can use on a driveway because they offer superior UV resistance and they are breathable. The best thing you can do to extend the life of your acrylic is to properly prepare the surface.  Here is how to properly prepare a concrete surface:

1. Make sure the concrete is clean. Remove any oil and rust stains, dirt, mold and mildew, and anything that could prevent the coating from bonding to the surface of the concrete.
2. Make sure the concrete is at the recommended grit. Some coatings don’t require a grind to etch before application but a “rough” surface will always make for a better coating bond. 80-200 grit finish is usually appropriate. There are some acrylics that can bond well to smooth concrete, but they may only last 2 years instead of 5.
3. Allow for proper curing time. Make sure you don’t apply an acrylic when it is expected to rain for a few days. You don’t want the acrylic to get rained on and you don’t want moisture from below the surface to cause premature delamination. Make sure the concrete is 100% dry during application and that is stays dry for a few days after.
4. Keep Xylene or other type of blush repair product handy. If after a few days white spots start to develop, put some Xylene down so the coating can re-cure. Blushing is common with acrylics if moisture was present during the application, or if the acrylic was over applied.
5. Consider the use of a sealer before applying an acrylic. Applying a silane -siloxae blend sealer prior to applying an acrylic coating can increase the life of the coating by up to 2 years by reducing the coating’s exposure to below-surface moisture. Further, when the coating starts to wear down, the concrete will repair protected from water, snow, salt and ice.

Water or Solvent Based

When choosing between a water or solvent based acrylic, opt for a solvent based. Solvent based coatings tend to offer better performance and a longer life. They are also very easy to maintain. Solvent based acrylics can be applied over old solvent based acrylics but water based can’t be applied over anything. When water based acrylics start to wear or break down, you have to remove them and start from scratch.

Product Warranty: Beware of Scams

The concrete sealer and coating market is a flooded and competitive market. It is filled with thousands of variations of the same product and each manufacturer claims to offer the best product. So how do you know which ones to avoid and which ones to compare? The warranty.

Warranties are good right? Wrong. Warranties are usually introduced by companies that can’t offer any other selling points about their product. They will charge a premium so that the customer feels better about spending $200 on their product. Truth of the matter is chemicals are born with a life expectancy and the actual life expectancy is determined by the chemical base, the person who applied the product, how the product was applied, what the concrete is used for, the age and condition of the concrete, and the amount of moisture present above and below the surface. If any manufacturer offers a warranty on an acrylic – beware. You should not be surprised to find that when you go to cash in on that warranty you will find that 1) you won’t win and 2) the fine print says that you need to prove everything from application to product purchase. Moral of the story: don’t pay the extra for a warranty because warrantied products are usually designed not to last. The below list references chemical types and estimated life cycles:

• Acrylics: 6 Months to 5 Years on exterior, 1 Year to 7 Years on interior.
• Silane – Siloxane Sealers: 1 Year to 10 Years on exterior, 5 Years to 10 years on interior.
• Silicates: Silicates are a lifetime because silicates simply spark a chemical reaction within the concrete. This reaction forms CSH within the pores and CSH can’t be broken down.
• Aliphatic and Polyasartic Urethanes: 5-12 Years on interior.
• Epoxies: 1-3 Years on interior.

Now, can a sealer or coating last longer, absolutely. But again, the actual chemical only has so much control over the life – the uncontrollable circumstances mentioned above have more control over life than the actual product.

Moral of the story: A warranty is usually an indication that the product does not last and that the manufacturer has no real product benefits to promote. Stay clear of warranties. Warranty = scam.

Quality of Materials

This is where it gets confusing. There is a difference between a $15 coating from Home Depot and a $50 coating direct from a manufacturer. When an acrylic is made there are several raw materials that go into the formula. The resins and solvents used in a coating will aid in the coatings ability to perform. Can a Home Depot acrylic last for 5 years? In a perfect situation, yes. But Home Depot acrylics are manufactured cheap so they can sell for cheap which means they are sensitive to application and abrasion. Now, should you spend $100 on an acrylic? Absolutely not. Most professional grade acrylics will run for around $40-60/gallon.