For applicators · Questions from the job
Applicator FAQ
Questions we hear on the job, answered one applicator to another. Where the right number depends on the product and the surface, call us at (941) 681-8290 and we’ll talk it through.
Prep and timing
How long do I really need to wait after washing before I seal?
Plan on cleaning one day and sealing the next. A paver can look dry on top and still be wet in the joints and the bed, and that’s where blushing starts. If the joints are dark or anything is puddled, it isn’t ready. Did it rain overnight on a two-day job? Start the dry time over.
New install. When can I seal it?
Give new pavers at least six weeks, and longer in rainy season or over a slab. They’re still pushing out moisture and salts. Seal too early and you trap both, and you’ll be back for the haze. Tell the builder the timeline up front so nobody is surprised.
It’s 95 out and the pavers are cooking. Do I keep rolling?
That’s flash-dry weather. With the air around 95 or the surface at 105 to 110, sealer can skin over before it soaks in, and you get roller marks, haze, and early wear. Start at first light, work the shade, and stop when the surface gets hot. Check the data sheet for each product’s own window.
Should I re-sand with polymeric before I seal?
We don’t. Poly can hold moisture in the joints, and that’s the last thing you want under a sealer in Florida. Use clean joint sand that meets ASTM C33 or C144, and re-sand only where joints have washed out. SilaCast BES and Shine-A-Cast both help hold the sand once it’s down.
Picking the product
The customer wants the wet look on old porous pavers. What’s my go-to?
SilaCast BES. It soaks in, brings the color back, and breathes, so moisture isn’t trapped under a film. When it wears, you can usually reseal without stripping, as long as what’s on there is still compatible and sound. Ask us about coverage on the surface you’re bidding.
They want it protected but don’t want it to look sealed.
Deco 20 Clear Finish. No shine, no film, no color change, and it helps fight mildew on porous concrete. It needs bare concrete, so strip any old film first. It goes on once and isn’t recoated with itself. Mask the glass, because it can etch.
Travertine around a pool, and the customer wants shine.
TravaCast is built for travertine, Spanish tile, and dense stone. It isn’t a slip-resistant coating, so talk slip resistance before you quote a pool deck, and call us to go over the options.
Water-based or solvent-based: what do you carry?
Everything we carry is water-based. Here’s why that matters on the job: one product family, consistent results, and no second-guessing what goes over what on your own work. Where you still have to think is a reseal over someone else’s old coating. If nobody can tell you what’s on there, do a test patch or strip it before you put a water-based sealer over it.
I want urethane gloss without two-part mixing.
Ure-a-Cast 1K is single component: no mixing and no pot life, with a high-gloss wet look on decorative concrete, pavers, brick, stone, and unglazed tile. It forms a film, so on pool decks and walkways ask us about the slip-resistant additive.
Stains and F9 cleaners
Rust streaks from irrigation and fertilizer on a driveway. What comes first?
F9 BARC. It’s made for rust, battery acid, and fertilizer stains, and it comes ready to use. It’s corrosive, so gear up, test a spot, and rinse well. Follow with Double Eagle when you need to neutralize.
White bloom keeps coming back. Is it efflorescence or the sealer?
Look closely. Chalky residue on the paver is usually efflorescence, which is common over slabs and where drainage is poor. A cloudy look inside the film is blushing. Hard-water spotting from irrigation is calcium. Efflo handles efflorescence and calcium. Treat it, let it dry, then seal. If the white is in the film, another coat won’t fix it.
Can I mix F9 products in one sprayer to save a step?
No. Run them one at a time, in order, and rinse between steps. Each one has its own safety data sheet, and an acid like BARC or Efflo doesn’t belong in a tank with anything else. Call us for the order we’d run on your job.
Is Groundskeeper worth carrying on the truck?
If you sell maintenance, yes. It’s a buffered low-pH cleaner for soil, grime, and tire marks after a preclean, degrease, or hot-water wash. It gives you a reason to come back between seals. Read the safety data sheet first, because it’s a professional chemical.
Re-coats, callbacks and selling the job
Strip it, or go over it?
Water-test the traffic lanes and a low-wear spot. Beading means the sealer is still working. Peeling, flaking, or a film that’s shiny in some places and bare in others means strip. Switching from a topical sealer to a penetrating one means strip. Super StripaCast does the job, but test a spot first, because every coating reacts differently.
How often should my customers reseal?
Most jobs don’t need it every year, and recoating too often builds up product that hazes and peels. Let the water test decide, not the calendar. A cleaning visit in between often sells better than a coat the surface doesn’t need.
How far will a pail go?
It depends on the product and how thirsty the surface is. Old porous pavers drink a lot more than dense stone. Call (941) 681-8290 for a starting rate for the product and surface, then let a test section on site tell you the rest before you price it.
The customer called two weeks later because it’s cloudy. Now what?
Don’t roll another coat over it. Cloudiness usually comes from trapped moisture, flash drying, putting too much down, or a product that didn’t match what was already there. Take close-up photos, note the weather on the day you sealed, and call us before you go back out.
I’m near North Port and need product today.
We keep stock on hand in North Port, so call (941) 681-8290 and we’ll get you sorted. Further south, the two Southwest Florida distributors on our distributor page carry it too.
How do I sell sealing when they only called for a wash?
Show them. After the clean, wet one paver with the hose so they see the color a wet-look sealer brings back. Explain what they get: help against UV fade, water, and stains, and sand that stays in the joints. Pitch it as day two of the job, not an add-on at the end. Ask us for talking points on each product.