Sealing products can not be used on newly poured concrete. Homeowners should wait 28 to 30 days for the concrete to completely cure. Applying sealer too early will be detrimental to the durability of the new concrete slab. Some sealers are made of chemicals that may be dangerous to humans and the environment.
Some sealant manufacturers recommend waiting at least 30 days for the concrete to solidify, while some professionals recommend waiting a year. Talk to your concrete installer and your concrete coating expert about what's best. Depending on the mix and the timeline, it may be better to wait to seal your garage floor.
Garages Are Not Just for Cars
Whether you're interested in protecting the garage floor against staining, pitting, crumbling, cracking, dusting, wicking water, or searching for a solution to high humidity levels and mold growth, the most important thing you can do is to seal it with the best penetrating concrete sealer.
Sealing your concrete isn't really a labor-intensive, nor costly, job. By sealing your concrete every 2-5 years, as recommended by experts, you should keep your floor in good shape, preventing cracks, pitting, and additional damage.
Most manufacturers recommend 50 to 90 degrees as the ideal temperature range for applying concrete sealer. So what happens if you apply concrete sealer outside of that 40-degree range? Extreme temperatures will cause the sealer to apply too fast or too slow.
Air Temperature: In a perfect world, concrete sealers should be applied when the outside temperatures is within 55-85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Every project has different environmental factors to consider, but I still suggest using the 50-degree rule as a safe guideline. Choosing to seal concrete at temperatures below 50 degrees substantially increases the risk of premature sealer failure.
Epoxy and urethane coatings tend to be more expensive than a simple concrete sealer, but they offer better protection.
Garage floors with coatings require less maintenance
That's why a resilient floor coating is worth the investment in more ways than one. First of all, you'll spend less time and money in the future repairing cracks and other types of floor damage.
An unsealed concrete floor is going to be more reactive and sensitive to changes in temperature. It will freeze in cold climates and expand in warm ones. This can cause crumbling, chipping, and cracking.
An attractive and expertly finished garage floor can greatly improve the aesthetics of your home's interior and add to the overall appeal. It not only increases the functionality of your property but also maximizes the resale value when you decide to sell your home someday down the road.
Acrylics and epoxy topical sealants are the least expensive, but do require prep work. They aren't as durable and long-lasting as penetrating sealants.
Applying Garage Floor Paint
Before Thinning applying the first coat, work out whether you need to apply a primer/sealer first. You will normally need to apply this if the floor hasn't been painted before or if the floor has bare concrete exposed.
If you've found minor hairline cracks in your garage floor, chances are they aren't a huge problem. As long as they're not exposed to any water, they likely won't widen or worsen. However, if you notice that a crack is getting wider, you should caulk it.
Make sure the surface is clean. Wipe up all oil and grease spills. Sweep and scrape away all dirt and loose contaminants with a broom. If the surface is new or uncoated, use a product to clean and etch the surface.
Instead of penetrating past the surface, these sealers bond to the surface of the concrete substrate. However, if the concrete is dirty and has not been cleaned, then the concrete sealer will not bond to the surface of the concrete.
Use the power washer or mop method once a month or as often as needed to keep the floor clean. You can also put down a garage floor mat to protect the concrete from dirt and oil spills, but you'll still need to clean the mat regularly.
Polyurethane Sealers
A polyurethane concrete sealer is a great choice for driveways, garages, and outdoor surfaces that are exposed to extreme weather conditions. A polyurethane sealer is a type of oil-based sealer that is made from polyurethane resin.
Colour sealing is preferred for driveways, carports, pathways and patios. Paint is a thick coating, gets slippery more easily, is prone to flaking and difficult to re-paint once worn.
During the late afternoon, any moisture present from condensation or morning dew will have evaporated off during the day. Also, both the surface temperature and air temperature are declining, creating a more favorable environment for concrete sealers to properly bond to the substrate and cure.
Concrete sets more slowly when it is cold—very slow below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the hydration reaction basically stops and the concrete doesn't gain strength. Anything below 40 degrees Fahrenheit will slow the curing process and may even stop it altogether.
Applying sealant to the driveway should be done on a warm, dry day to get the best results. As a general rule of thumb, concrete sealing should be performed when the weather is at 50 degrees F or higher, suggests Concrete Network.