Sealing Concrete after using oxalic for rust.

[NewYorkBoraPL 22]

After cleaning a clients concrete she decided she would like me to seal it as well. She had huge rust stains on here concrete from a power line above her property which had a rusty metal covering. I used oxalic to rid of the rust spots and of course there is a color variation in the concrete. My questing is, can the concrete be sealed with this color variation?

Should I try to even out the color with say a base before I apply clear seal?

Thanks

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Might want to oxalic the whole thing to even it out first.

[NewYorkBoraPL 22]

I considered that, but her back yard concrete exceed 2600 ft2. There must be something else I can do.

[PressurePros 248]

Why did you not bill out cleaning all of the concrete? You have to do that before you apply a sealer. That looks like hell right now. You really wanna lock that in?

[douseahouse 21]

agreed, i would never seal that. quote her a price including the oxalic cleanup for the entire area. luckily oxalic is an inexpensive product.

rando

[mikew 14]

Do the whole area with Oxalic first. Oxalic is not that expensive.

[sflasealcoatinginc 14]

Yes you can seal over the discoloration... but, No i wouldnt put a clear seal on concrete ever. I would use a color stain / pigmented sealer. Tell her she can make the concrete whatever concrete she wants they come in tons of colors from reg concrete color to pink and she gets the satisfaction of knowing she has a sealer on there as well :)

[dpaull 80]

Wow...that looks pretty bad...I wouldn't seal over that. Once you seal it, there's just no going back without some really hard work.

[NewYorkBoraPL 22]

Wow...that looks pretty bad...I wouldn't seal over that. Once you seal it, there's just no going back without some really hard work.

I agree...it looks horrible. Maybe I should go with a sealant that has a natural color of concrete.

[NewYorkBoraPL 22]

Or I could wash all the concrete with oxalic and tell my client that I will have to (A) raise her price and delay the finishing date of the project or (B) not raise her price by taking a hit but still delaying the project. I think my best bet would be to get some H&C natural concrete colored stain from SW and call it a day.

[Tmrrptr 164]

We are doing semi transparent acrylic stain for 2 bucks a ft including clean and etch. Probably a bit less for 2600 sq ft.

It will resolve the current problem.

r

[MMI Enterprises 289]

You may be getting yourself in and over your head and your customer overbudget if you go towards solid staining or top coating. Most clear top coats will darken the crete abit and perhaps that is not what you or they are after. Perhaps they just wanted a cleaning, rust removed, and some protection to make it easier to clean and for it to not stain so easy...Get ahold of the Vseal guys and ask if their impregnator type seals will darken the crete and explain the benefits of not top filming it...You need penetration.. :)

[MMI Enterprises 289]

We are doing semi transparent acrylic stain for 2 bucks a ft including clean and etch. Probably a bit less for 2600 sq ft.

It will resolve the current problem.

r

Which one ya using?..

[Aqua Pro 22]

Yes you can seal over the discoloration... but, No i wouldnt put a clear seal on concrete ever. I would use a color stain / pigmented sealer. Tell her she can make the concrete whatever concrete she wants they come in tons of colors from reg concrete color to pink and she gets the satisfaction of knowing she has a sealer on there as well :)

No offence but there are some great clear sealers on the market with hydro and olio-phoibic properties that will actually fuse with the free lime in the bleed channels of the concrete. Some lasting as long as 20 years (with a lite maintenance coat 3-5 years after initial application).

I suppose it all depends on what the desired effect is. Are you going for cosmetics or longevity and protection of the substrate? Probably a blend, You want the concrete to be free of asmany containiments as possible while protecting it from scaling, delamination, pops-outs..etc etc etc. Do your homework on the sealers....and yes, please clean the rest of it first to blend!!

[NewYorkBoraPL 22]

Well I explained the options to the HO and she decided just to even out just that one section. I prepped it with oxalic to even it out and sealed it lear with a H&C clear seal. I was expecting the seal to leave a more "wet" finish look. It is in deed a good water proofer but it did not change the appearance of the flat work.

[Tmrrptr 164]

Kevin, I'm using behr... no clue how it will perform over time...

Actually started out to use what was claimed as superior product but was not in stock, so I went to the big box and got what was, for a rush job.

So far, all I can report is that it applies easily.

abt 200sqft per gallon.

Would be a nice looking fix for the stains shown here.

If a downside becomes apparent, I'll post it.

r

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Well I explained the options to the HO and she decided just to even out just that one section. I prepped it with oxalic to even it out and sealed it lear with a H&C clear seal. I was expecting the seal to leave a more "wet" finish look. It is in deed a good water proofer but it did not change the appearance of the flat work.

No darkening then?,that good to hear..got us any more pics?

If you want gloss then you can go with something like Glaze n seal 2000 (laqcuer).

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Kevin, I'm using behr... no clue how it will perform over time...

Actually started out to use what was claimed as superior product but was not in stock, so I went to the big box and got what was, for a rush job.

So far, all I can report is that it applies easily.

abt 200sqft per gallon.

Would be a nice looking fix for the stains shown here.

If a downside becomes apparent, I'll post it.

r

BEHR- semi transparent acrylic stain ?...sounds cool.

Have only tried their masonry silicone stuff to pretty good success. Blue bottle..