With efficient water resistance, sealants can help you improve the structural integrity of your concrete surfaces. Ready-to-apply sealants are a great solution for concrete peeling and flaking, as they cause water and other liquids to peel off the surface. They reduce water absorption by up to 95%, preventing water from freezing inside the pores. Silicate sealants can be used in combination with water-repellent sealants if you feel that you need an increase in strength and a decrease in water absorption.
For new concrete, apply a penetrating waterproofing sealant 28 days after the concrete is laid and every few years thereafter. Sealants are usually applied by spray or roller, depending on whether they are water-based or solvent-based. Without proper application of a sealant, concrete will absorb moisture and become a haven for mold, as well as being more susceptible to cracking, chipping and pitting. When the temperature drops below the freezing point, the moisture in the concrete tends to expand, creating internal pressure.
Over the course of a winter, or over the years, as internal pressure increases and decreases, the surface layer of concrete is stressed, which leads to flaking. Splinters can appear because the rebar has been exposed and moisture and water have started to rust the rebar or because the concrete joints were not built properly. As climate changes, concrete expands and causes it to flake, leading to further deterioration. One technique that can prevent concrete from flaking is to apply a good water sealant to the finished surface to prevent water from entering the concrete. After thorough cleaning, re-pave the area with a polymer-modified cement compound.
If you are really trying to prevent it from chipping in the future, make sure your compound is of good quality and reliable. After this layer dries, seal the entire affected area with a waterproof sealant. This will help prevent the flaking from occurring again. When you use V-SEAL, you can be sure that you are using a deep penetration HI-TECH formula that will enter and protect during those critical years and stay for many years to come. V-SEAL helps prevent flaking by not encapsulating concrete like other sealants such as acrylics.
Splinters can also be avoided if concrete is handled with care and appropriate techniques are used when pouring, such as providing adequate concrete coverage (embedding) of rebar and placing joints in the right places and at the right distances. The descaling of concrete is the result of chemical and physical processes that occur within the concrete itself. The symptoms of peeling concrete are flaking, chipping, and large pieces that you see missing from the surface, exposing the aggregate of coarse, rocky concrete. Concrete sealants are excellent solutions for protecting concrete, but in some cases, the use of a sealant alone is not enough. If flaking has already occurred, V-SEAL can and should be applied to keep the concrete under control and greatly help prevent further damage. Other concrete installation areas that could cause chipping involve applying a hard trowel to the outside of the slab while water was still leaking. De-icing chemicals, which cars collect on the road, also worsen flaking and pitting, as they allow more water to enter the concrete and increase the size of the husking.
Those are the symptoms, but peeling of concrete is a bit more complex than what appears at surface level. The driveway is exposed to cold weather and developed minor etching, cracking and chipping within a year. Concrete coating is used to repair and revitalize surfaces that suffer from things as minor as stains and minor corrosion due to elements, to more structural problems such as peeling. The facing material is simply spread over the existing and chipped concrete surface to create a fresh finish. If you encounter chipped concrete and are not sure how old it is or how it was poured, consider contacting a structural engineer or similar professional to come assess its structural integrity. Sealing is an effective way to prevent flaking due to moisture. It's important to tackle any chipping problem early on for easy remedy.
Applying a good water sealant on finished surfaces helps prevent water from entering into concrete. Re-paving with polymer-modified cement compound followed by sealing with waterproof sealant will help prevent further damage. V-SEAL provides deep penetration HI-TECH formula that will enter and protect during those critical years and stay for many years to come. It helps prevent flaking by not encapsulating like other sealants such as acrylics.
