Concrete Maintenance

DecoMax Concrete recommends the following General Guidelines for home owners that want to maintain their decorative concrete projects themselves:

1. Clean Concrete 

• Concrete driveways, patios, walkways, and pool decks usually accumulate a fair amount of dirt and debris throughout the year, however more so over the winter months

• A good power washing will remove surface contaminants and allow you to assess whether any further attention is required

• DecoMax Concrete recommends using a 2,500 psi power washer with a fan tip spray pattern nozzle and maintaining an 8″-12” from the concrete surface to avoid causing damage to the finished surface

• After a thorough concrete cleaning, assess whether the finished concrete surface is looking fresh and revived, or whether it should be brightened up with a fresh coat of Concrete Sealer

2. Cautionary Steps

• Use EXTREME CAUTION when handling all chemicals, including using personal protective equipment including rubber gloves, safety glasses, chemical respirator (mask), chemical resistant or old shoes/boots and clothing that may be ruined during application

• DecoMax Concrete suggests you follow Concrete Sealer Manufactures’ recommended Application Guidelines when applying their concrete sealer to your finished decorative concrete projects

• Plan to re-seal concrete during a dry warm weather day, either in the morning or in the evening, as water should not come in contact with the concrete surface after sealing for 24 hours preferably

3. Prepare Concrete Surface Prior to Re-sealing:

1. Prior to re-sealing concrete, DecoMax Concrete highly recommends applying a thin layer of Xylene Solvent (can be purchased at a paint store or concrete supplies store) with a paint roller and/or brush to the concrete surface to improve chemical bonding between old concrete sealer layer and new concrete sealer layer
2. Let Xylene layer dry to touch, typically an hour, before re-sealing concrete in the next step

4. Re-seal Concrete

1. Apply 1 thin layer of concrete sealer using a paint roller and/or brush to the concrete surface. Over application of concrete sealers can result in bubbling, whitening, or even delamination of concrete sealer off concrete surface.
2. Let concrete sealer dry to touch, for example, typically about an hour
3. Evaluate if the 1 thin layer of new concrete sealer was sufficient in providing your desired enhanced concrete color, for example, deeper color, “wet” look, and enusre concrete sealer was evenly distributed, for example, no patches of sealed and non-sealed areas
4. If not to your liking, apply a 2nd thin layer of concrete sealer over the first layer (no Xylene required)
5. Let 2nd concrete sealer layer dry to touch
6. Evaluate if the 2nd thin layer was sufficient in providing your desired enhanced concrete color, for example, deeper color, “wet” look, and evenly distributed, for example, no patches of sealed and non-sealed areas
7. For concrete driveways: please ensure concrete is free from vehicles for 24 hours after sealing
   For concrete patios, walkways, and pool decks: please refrain from pedestrian traffic for a minimum of 2 hours after sealing
8. Enjoy!

If you would like us to do the re-sealing for you, please fill in contact form below.