Confused By Sealers?Stone and Granite SealersArticle - There are so many sealers on the market today it can be confusing knowing which sealer is the right one. Which one will work... Which one won't... Which sealer is the best one for your situation? And, how do they differ? What Exactly Is A Sealer?  A sealer is a liquid applied to porous Natural Stones and other materials such as concrete and even tiles to help prevent staining from water and/or oil based materials.absorbency of a stone. Types Of Sealers One type of sealer sits on top of the stone and coats it. This type of sealer is called a Topical Sealer. The other type of sealer is absorbed into the stone and protects it from within. This type of sealer is called a Impregnating Sealer (also known as a Penetrating Sealer). Sometimes a Topical Sealer is referred to as a Coating because this is exactly what it does... coats the surface of your stone with a protective barrier. It's a layer or thin film sitting on top of your stone. Topical sealers are either strippable or permanent. Strippable coatings are designed to easily be stripped from the surface of stone and are usually water based. Most strippable coatings are NOT designed for stone. Permanent Coatings are very difficult to remove and are usually NOT designed for stone either. It's important to read the product label to determine if a particular Topical Sealer is safe for use on your stone. What will a topical sealer do? It will help prevent your stone from scuffing, scratching, staining, and marring... the sealer will scuff and scratch instead. The downfall... since the sealer is softer than your stone, it will scuff and scratch pretty easily. This means they are short lived and frequent reapplication is necessary. Before reapplying, the old sealer needs to be removed and frequent stripping can damage your stone. If you don't remove the sealer before applying a new coat, eventually it will build up and cause your stone to have an unnatural wavy or plastic look. Bottom of the barrel topical sealers may turn your stone a yellowish color... especially when exposed to UV light. They can change the appearance of your stone and may react adversely to heat and acids. Topical sealers are usually easy to apply and less expensive than impregnating sealers. Some add additional shine to your stone and even add slip resistant properties. But, the need to frequently strip and reapply, burnish, or buff should be taken into consideration as well as the location of your stone.
There is no need to strip the old sealer before reapplying, most aren't affected by UV light, and high quality sealers do not require frequent applications. How Do They Work? In an impregnator type sealer, the "active component" is either a natural or a synthetic resin. This resin is melted into a liquid solution with a mineral solvent or with water.
What Sets Impregnating Sealers Apart?
Impregnating sealers use either a natural or synthetic resin. Today, most impregnator type sealers use synthetic resin. Natural Resins - Linseed Oil would be an example of a natural resin. It's effective but has the tendency to yellow. Silicon Resins - This is the least expensive type of resin used. It evaporates quickly and is the first to lose its effectiveness. Silicon resins were the first to come to the market, but only a few manufacturers still use them. The problem? Silicone evaporates and needs to be reapplied more frequently than any other impregnator. Furthermore, silicone based sealers are mainly solvent carried and while usually excellent water repellents (while they last) they are only fair oil repellents. Siloxane Resins - Silane and siloxane based impregnators are the next step up. These naturally deteriorate over time. But, they cure better and do last longer (up to 5 years), opposed to 1 to 3 years. They're also mainly solvent carried and are still better at repelling water than oil. Siloxane resin based impregnators are more expensive than Silicone based impregnators and they are generally tougher. However, its sealing performance is limited to a certain range of stones which makes its application somehow limited. Fluorocarbon Aliphatic Resins - Fluorocarbon Aliphatic resins are the toughest and last the longest... 10 Years for Our MB-4 Impregnating Sealer. They cover a greater range of applications and are the most consistent over time. It won't evaporate like Silicon nor will it go through any other type of natural deterioration like Siloxane does. The advantages of these resins is that they can be carried by water, opposed to hazardous solvents, and they are better at repelling oil than water. The difference in price of the various makes is mainly determined by two factors:
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