Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions page. Here we endevour to answers most questions relating to our products and services.
As a hands on family company we are happy to help in any way we can. So, if you don't see the answer to your question here, please visit our contact page and send or call us with your query.
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1. Why Should I Seal?When you buy a new carpet you probably have it stain guarded and certainly you will wax your car, you do this to protect their surface and make them last longer. The same applies to paving, whether it is block paving, pattern imprinted concrete, stone or flags.
Applying the sealer will protect the surface, reduce maintenance, and help it last longer. In addition, it will also stop oil and grease stains and help resist the growth of weeds, moss and algae. It is particularly important to use a sealer on block paving as it acts as a structural stabiliser.
The sand is a structural part of block paving spreading the load by friction from one block to the next. It is important to keep the sand in position and stop it being eroded by wind and rain water. The protective properties of the sealer will not only lengthen the life of your paving (as it reduces physical wear), but will also keep it looking like new as the inbuilt UV filter will help retain its natural colour. InvisiSeal is not designed to stabilise sand so is not recommended if sand stabilisation is required
At Adseal we pride ourselves on manufacturing the finest available sealers.
They are easier to apply, dry quicker and last longer than other sealers and do not soften in hot weather. In addition to supplying full application instructions we, at Adseal, provide a free technical support line should you have any problems or uncertainties during the installation process.
At Adseal we manufacture a complete range of sealers and impregnators for every surface.
If you have block paving or imprinted concrete, you will need our Block Paving and Imprinted Concrete Sealer. This sealer is specifically designed for these man-made products
If your paving is a stone, slate or travertine or any other natural material, you will need our Stone and Slate Sealer as it has been designed for the differing physical & chemical properties of natural materials.
For clay paviors (brick paving) you will need our Stone and Slate Sealer as clay paviors/brick pavers are made from clay, which is a natural product.
If you are looking for a high gloss or very hard wearing sealer you should choose our Heavy Duty Sealer
For a totally matt [invisible] finish choose InvisiSeal
How much you need will depend to a large degree upon how porous the surface is. For example an old and weathered block paving driveway will require more sealing than a brand new one as the surface has worn and become more porous. In general terms, however, you will need about 25 litres to cover 60 sqm of paving in the recommended two coats.
At Adseal we supply a full range of sealers, and can supply you with anything from a totally matt, invisible, finish to a high gloss.
Our standard block paving and pattern imprinted concrete sealer will give an attractive sheen on block paving and a gloss on pattern imprinted concrete. If you want a matt or eggshell finish you will need one tub of our Matting Agent for each 25 litres of sealer Our stone and slate sealer will give a colour enhancing matt finish if applied in one coat.
Or result in an attractive seen if two coats are applied. If you want to protect the surface without enhancing its natural colours our InvisiSeal is totally matt (invisible).
This really depends on the way your paving is used.
Clearly, sealer on a patio will last longer than sealer on a driveway. Likewise, if your driveway has only light use with a small car leaving and returning once a day, your sealer will last much longer than if it has much heavier or commercial use.
On average, we would say that the sealer on block paving, pattern imprinted concrete, stone, slate, clay paviours etc will last in the region of two to four years before it needs some re-coating. However, you could well find that only the areas worn by vehicular traffic and foot traffic need re-coating as lightly used areas may still be in perfect condition. Our products are all designed so that it is easy to re-coat these worn areas.
Stripping of the surface is NOT required before recoating. InvisiSeal is different as it fully penetrates the surface, and, therefore lasts almost indefinitely. The application instructions in the Download section give full details of durability and maintenance.
All of our sealants can be applied by a brush, roller or airless sprayer.
We supply full instructions with each order and detailed instructions are available from the download section on this site. The instructions from the download section also give full details of coverage, durability and maintenance of the specific product.
As long as you replace the lid on the container and securely close it, when not in use, and also protect it from frost, it should last for 2 or 3 years and will be perfectly suitable for any re-coating that may be necessary at that time.
Full details of preparation are available from the download section of this website.
In brief, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the paving you will be coating, preferably with a jet washer and ensure that all grease, loose materials, oil stains etc are removed.
The paving should then be allowed to dry thoroughly (full depth, not just the surface).
If you are sealing block paving you will then need to apply sand to the joints and we would recommend that you do this on the day that you intend to seal to avoid the sand getting damp in the interim. Any loose sand should be carefully brushed off the surface before sealing.
It should be possible to walk over the paving within an hour or so of installation to gain access to your home.
We would recommend that vehicles are left off for a minimum of 24 to 36 hours. Longer may be required in cooler, damper conditions. But full details are provided in the download section of this website.
It is not usually a problem in the English climate as temperatures do not normally get too high.
However, the sealer will dry more quickly in hot weather. So it is better, if you are inexperienced, to wait until a cooler part of the day to apply the sealer.
We would recommend that the sealer should not be applied at above 25°C.
Most of our sealers are solvent based and so should be handled with caution. But they are not dangerous as such.
We would always recommend that you wear gloves when applying any product and avoid splashes. If the sealer splashes onto the skin, wash off with soap and water as if left can cause some irritation. If the product splashes into the eyes rinse your eyes with copious amounts of water as it can cause irritation.
We must add that if symptoms or irritation persist you should seek medical advice. Once dry it will have no harmful effect and is completely inert. You will find full Health and Safety information on the download section of this website.
It is advisable to keep pets in whilst applying the sealer and for an hour or two thereafter as contact with uncured sealer can cause irritation.
Once the sealer has dried it will have no harmful effects on people or pets. Avoid spilling or spraying into fishponds as solvents are detrimental to pond life [especially fish].
The short answer is that in 99% of cases, yes, but you must check to be sure.
There are three types of sealer.
- The first type is water based which usually can be bought at DIY outlet and some builder’s merchants that supply DIY customers as well as the trade.
- The second type is solvent based which is generally used by the trade, as it is much harder wearing and longer lasting than the water based products.
- Finally there is Polyurethane which is only very rarely used nowadays on domestic paving If your paving was sealed by a professional contracting company, the chances are that it is a solvent based product, and will be compatible with our sealers.
We would always recommend that you test a small area, and for this you will need a 2 inch paint brush, a small paint scraper, a flat screwdriver and a small plastic or metal bucket to pour the solvent into [you can order a small 1 litre can of solvent from our website].
Choose a small area to test, probably about 200mm x 200mm (8 inches x 8 inches) and in a low wear area, which will still have a good layer of the old sealer on it. In high wear areas, the original sealer may have worn off.
First of all, apply some solvent to the test area with a paintbrush, rub around and agitate briskly with the paintbrush for 5 minutes.
If the sealer has not softened repeat the process and if the sealer still does not soften it is a polyurethane. Unfortunately no sealer, not even another polyurethane, will adhere so you will need to strip it off before starting [please call us for advice on stripping].
If, on the other hand, the sealer starts to soften and become tacky – add a little more solvent, just enough to keep the mixture of melted sealer and solvent as a liquid for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes lightly scrape over the area with your paint scraper or flat screwdriver and look at the end of the material on the end – this will give you the answer.
If the sealer is solvent based it will become a liquid and nothing but a liquid. It may be runny or quite thick, but it will be a liquid. This shows that the sealer has totally dissolved. As the solvent now evaporates, you will see that the sealer gradually becomes more and more tacky and will eventually it will dry completely. This result shows that the sealer is solvent based and, therefore, totally compatible with our sealers.
If, on the other hand, the sealer does not dissolve completely and just softens there will be a soft deposit or gel on the tip on the blade of the scraper or the tip of the screwdriver, but it will not be a liquid. As the sealer has softened or not dissolved completely this indicates that that the original sealer is a water based sealer. The sealer will remain soft and not set to its previous hardened state. This indicates that our sealer is not compatible with the DIY sealer used on your paving.
If using InvisiSeal you will need to strip any existing sealer as InvisiSeal is an impregnator and any pre-existing seal will reduce its ability to prenetarte into the paving
Weed seeds and moss algal spores can still fall onto your paving and germinate, but the surface is unattractive for them as it is not longer damp and porous, and so they are less likely to germinate. Equally, should they germinate there is less likelihood of their roots or filaments to be able to get a foothold on the sealed paving. In any event, weeds moss and algae should now be easy to rinse or brush off.
If there is any moisture left in the paving [or the sand joints on block paving], this moisture will cause a clouding or whitening of the surface.
This is not a problem and is really easy to remove. The whiteness or clouding is caused by escaping moisture forming microscopic carbon dioxide bubbles which are trapped within the thickness of the resin coating as it is curing.
To remove the whiteness or clouding, simply spray a light coating of Adseal solvent over the affected areas. This will allow the surface of the resin to soften which will, in turn, allow the carbon dioxide bubbles to escape. The sealer will then re-solidify without any adverse effect.
If the clouding/whitening returns simply repeat the process.
Generally, when a person is concerned about the paving appearing to be slippery, it is because the surface has got a slight sheen and the brain is warning that it may be slippery. In reality this is often not the case.
Sealed paving is widely used throughout the world, not just on driveways and patios, but in shopping malls, shops etc. People are just as likely to slip on another surface as they are to on a sealed surface. Paving would not be sealed if it was potentially hazardous.
Just to put it into context, when comparing a wet sealed surface to wet wooden decking, the area of sealed paving would have a significantly better Skid Resistance Value (SRV) than the wet decking. Equally, a surface which has been sealed is less likely to have algae, moss or lichens on it. It is often these growths, when wet, which produce a surface with a very low SRV, and so sealed paving is likely to have a better SRC than a similar unsealed area, which may have some growth on it.
If you are concerned that the paving will be slippery because of steep incline, etc., than apply Adseal Low Slip Additive when sealing
All you can do if the surface becomes slippery in winter, when it is icy, is to treat it as you would with any other areas of paving. Apply some salt to melt the ice, or try using some sharp sand to improve the grip.
In fact, you may find your sealed surface is less slippery in frosty conditions than unsealed surfaces. This is because the sealing prevents moisture entering the paving overnight. It is this moisture which is within the paving that, as it expands in frosty conditions, lifts up through the paving and forms the frosty surface that you notice first thing in the morning. With a sealed surface this is far less likely to happen.
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