Alek rolling the sealer on the stamped concrete patio
Love the "Wet Look"
Original application of concrete sealer by the contractors
Periodic Sealing brings out that rich color of the Stamped Concrete
Based on their recommendation, I did the following which worked great:
1. Purchase 5 Gallon drum of Dayton J-25 Aggre-Gloss sealer ($140 at Colorado Materials in Longmont),
16 ounce container of Rhino-grip/Shark-Tooth/Sure-Step/etc. grip additive ($20 at CM) and
1 gallon of xylene ($20 at Home Depot).
I used a roller with 3/8" nap - you can also use a sprayer but be careful of clogging.
2. You need about a 3 day window with no rain. Ideal weather conditions are
moderate temperatues with clouds - if too hot & sunny, then you'll get some bubbling, especially if you let the sealer puddle. And you
don't want overnight temps to get too cold.
3. Really, really, really clean the stamped concrete patio. I hit it hard with
a pressure washer (twice actually!) and then let it dry for 24 hours. I then
did a final dust-off with a leaf blower.
4. Dump grip additive in 5 Gallon Drum of sealer and shake/roll well and let
it dissolve in. Shake again just before using.
5. Combine 1.5 gallons of sealer and 1 gallon of xylene (in drum from previous sealing) and use roller to spread first coat.
6. After letting it dry for a couple of hours, then apply second coat of straight sealer - about a gallon of sealer left was left after that.
7. Go back the next day and then a week or so later for touchup.
While some people seal their stamped concrete annually to keep that
rich "wet look", I've done it every 2-3 years.
Note: One time I was a knucklehead and tried using the cheaper concrete sealer from Home Depot - this was a disaster! It peeled up within weeks and basically
looked like crap. Torrey had warned me about this but I had forgotten - D'OH!