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Concrete Slab & Exposed Aggregate Floors

How to:

Seal | Clean | Repair | Protect
Strip & Restore | Easy Care

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Exposed Aggregate Concrete - Cleaning and Sealing

Advantages of Concrete Slab and Exposed Aggregate Concrete:
Dense, tough paving | indoors or outdoors | Easily formed to random outlines and shapes | Colors can be deep and rich depending on sealer | Many choices for finishing gloss - from none to high gloss

The discussion on this page is oriented to the exposed aggregate type finish but both are treated the same. Unprotected exposed aggregate slabs will get gradually dirtier and dirtier over the years. It is worth considering sealing it early on to keep it looking new with simple hose washing.

As you progress down this page you will see:

The products you may need for surface Preparation before sealing.
Pictures of each of the recommended sealers for this surface type. Click the sealer's picture for it's full description.
Handy tips to prevent issues that others have had before coming to Aldon.
Perhaps more information than you need now, but might be of interest later.

Surface Preparation before sealing
What you need for your Regular slab or Exposed Aggregate Concrete project

You have 1 of the 2 possible situations that follow. The products you need are listed in the sequence that you would use them. Click the picture to add a product to your list.

#1. If the new concrete slab is not fully cleaned

Use 1st	2nd	3rd
n/a	*Grout Residue Remover	**Efflorescence Treatment

* Remove remaining cement smears from pebbles
** Remove efflorescence powder prior to sealing

#2. If the concrete slab has had a sealer applied in the past.

Use 1st	2nd
Premium Stripper	*Grout Residue Remover		**Grout Restoration

* If, after stripping, you find old grout smears or crystal efflorescence from years ago.
** If your concrete is badly stained. Regular stains are usually removed by the stripping process.

Your Choices for Sealing

Unsealed (raw) Exposed Aggregate Concrete.
Note 1: A water drop absorbs rapidly. If this does not happen on your concrete it needs to be treated differently. It might have been sealed at some time and you should review this page.

"Same Day Sealer" on Regular or Exposed Aggregate Concrete. This sealer is Water Base | Penetrating Type. Provides: No color enhancement or gloss. Coverage guidelines (depending on absorption) 250 to 600 sq.ft./gal.

Add to Project List Gallons Case (4 gal) Quarts Case 12 qt Sample

With one Application of "Same Day Sealer" there is no change to color or gloss.
You can add one application of "Lifeguard" for a matte level gloss. You can increase gloss with more applications as desired.

"Crystal Glaze Sealer" on Regular or Exposed Aggregate Concrete - This sealer is | Water Based | Coating Type. Provides: little or no color enhancement and high gloss. Coverage guidelines (depending on absorption) 350 to 600 sq.ft./gal.

Add to Project List Gallons Case 4 gal Sample

One application of "Crystal Glaze" provides some color enhancement and very high gloss.
You can add one application of "Lifeguard" for gloss protection from traffic wear.

Add to Project List Gallons Case (4 gal) Aerosols Case Aeros Sample

Picture: One Application of "S-B-S Sealer". Color enhancement - medium (matte) to high gloss depending on number of applications.
You can add one application of "Lifeguard" for gloss protection from traffic wear.

Easy Care Products: for a concrete floor.

Exposed Aggregate Concrete - clean, protect, seal tile

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Sample n/a

Exposed Aggregate Concrete - wet mop cleaning without streaks

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Sample n/a

"Insta-Clean" removes food, grease, oil, etc. stain causing materials - from floors, patio furniture, machinery.
"Maintain" - for no streak wet mopping of Exposed Aggregate Concrete and all other types of flooring.

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Exposed Aggregate Concrete - dusting the easy way

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Sample n/a

"Lifeguard" prevents traffic wear to a sealer. Adds gloss.
"Dust Whiz" - easy dry mop dust pickup at 1,000 sq. ft. in 3 minutes.

Items of Interest

You may have heard of concerns about Concrete Slabs or Exposed Aggregate Concrete. All of them would be prevented with the information we provide here. Therefore, you can have the floor you want!

How to select a sealer

To select a sealer it is good to have some idea of the absorption rate so you achieve the gloss level (none to high) and all the other benefits available without using more sealer than necessary. Also, you can test for (and protect against) acidic liquid sensitivity.
An Aldon sealer does far more than just bead water and look pretty! To see what that is click here.

Your results may vary somewhat from these pictures due to variations in computer display and the surface materials themselves. Nevertheless, you will be able to see the differences well enough to make good choices.

Important: If your project has had any sealer applied in the past, it must be evaluated differently. To see why, Click here!

Sealer "solids" levels?

This discussion applies only to the petroleum solvent based sealers. With the water based sealers, solids level is not a consideration.
Here are the relative solids level of our petroleum solvent based sealers:
  Lowest: SBS Sealer
  Next level Higher: Penetrating Paver Sealer
  Another level higher: Porous Stone Sealer
  Highest level: Mexiglaze

A porous surface will require more gallons (more money) of a lower solids sealer than using a higher solids level sealer. That, plus different surfaces have different requirements, is why we make the different solids levels. They all work as described, so it is only a matter of which is best for your needs.
The more porous the surface, the more solids will be required to achieve the desired effects of gloss, strengthening, stopping efflorescence, etc.
The more porous the surface, generally the greater the need for the sealer to create a stronger surface.

An old sealer below the surface, even after stripping, will lower the absorption and porosity to some degree. Sometimes it is uneven below the surface and can create an uneven coloring effect with a color enhancing sealer applied later. Another reason to test first.

Do not make decisions based only upon the price per gallon.

Unlike other sealers, Aldon's sealers typically require fewer applications (fewer gallons), less cure time, and longer life. And that is only a few of many considerations.
To see more of why the price per gallon has little to do with what will be your total project cost, click here. For other questions about sealers, see the FAQ Sealers link on the slide out menu.

Do not believe yet that you have the type of surfacing you were told:

There is no need for confusion or problems brought about by misidentification of a surface type, yet it happens all too often. Sellers use fancy marketing names that can be misleading about the true nature of a surfacing. For instance, a customer was told they bought "Petite Granite" for a bar surface. But, unlike granite it was etching circles from wine drips. After simple testing, it proved to be a limestone which is treated very differently than granite. It was easily restored and protected after a 60 second test. Please review our "Surface Types" page to compare pictures, descriptions, and testing if needed, to confirm you have what you were told.

Do not "pre-seal" - apply a sealer BEFORE grouting.

Do not use any sealer as a grout release barrier (pre-sealing). This technique creates many risk factors to be avoided. Prevent grout smears, surface scratching and keep grout residue out of surface texture by coating with Aldon Grout Easy before grouting. Grout Easy is a water soluble coating that comes off easily while grout is being cleaned off in the normal process with water and a sponge.

Colors fading?

The iron oxide pigments used in concrete products, and the colored clays in clay products, do not fade . The appearance of fading is actually from tiny efflorescence particles (white powder) in the pores. It can be removed and color restored (with Aldon Efflorescence Treatment) and then stopped from returning, and color restored, by sealing with the appropriate Aldon penetrating type sealer.

You can stop efflorescence (white powdery stains)

Efflorescence (subsurface originating white powdery stains) is common with many surfaces. This can even occur before installation. However, it is easily made to disappear without scrubbing by using Aldon Efflorescence Treatment. If the white powder is old and is now "crystalline" that is bonded to the surface - it can be eaten away with Aldon Grout Residue Remover.

Renew a glossy finish

Aldon Sealer applications can be made hours or years later, but do not apply thin layer upon thin layer. Apply a sufficient quantity to insure below surface penetration & bonding. Or, for the solvent based penetrating sealers, test spraying lacquer thinner as an alternative to slightly melt and reform the surface and not build too much gloss or create sealer "layering". A layer of sealer on top of another layer of sealer can result in poor bonding between layers and that can cause separation peeling that looks grayish.

Concerned about Doing It Yourself or what your contractor says?

If you are concerned about doing it yourself - consider that the satisfaction of a project is directly related to YOUR knowledge of what needs to be done and how. Who actually does the work is less important. We estimate that 50% of the usage of Aldon products is by "do it yourself" homeowners and we know they are happy because we hear from them.
Our goal for our contractor customers - NO CALL BACKS. A good contractor will understand the logic of Aldon application instructions on the labels and will not take shortcuts. If a contractor does not agree, feel free to let us find out what is so unusual about this particular project so the contractor does not have to return.

Concrete Slab & Exposed Aggregate Floors

How to:

Seal | Clean | Repair | Protect Strip & Restore | Easy Care

Surface Preparation before sealing What you need for your Regular slab or Exposed Aggregate Concrete project

#1. If the new concrete slab is not fully cleaned

#2. If the concrete slab has had a sealer applied in the past.

Your Choices for Sealing

Easy Care Products: for a concrete floor.

Items of Interest

Seal | Clean | Repair | Protect
Strip & Restore | Easy Care

Surface Preparation before sealing
What you need for your Regular slab or Exposed Aggregate Concrete project