Here at Swiss Seal, we specialise in creating cleaning and sealing products for a range of surfaces, including driveways and patios. Our extensive experience has shown that many common issues can be avoided with the right products and quality advice, ensuring your outdoor spaces look pristine for years to come.
Addressing Blooming and Salt Ingress in Sealers
One prevalent issue is blooming or salt ingress when applying a new sealer coat to surfaces like imprinted or pressed concrete, natural stone, Indian stone, block paving, man-made paving, slate, granite, brick, and stone. These problems often arise due to a lack of proper application knowledge and unsuitable product use.
We provide comprehensive application guides with all our products to ensure you apply them correctly and at the right time. This attention to detail helps prevent common issues and extends the life of your sealed surfaces.
Understanding and Preventing Salt Ingress
Salt ingress often occurs when sealer is applied too soon to new or renovated driveways and patios. Natural substrates need time to release moisture and salts – typically 10-14 days for imprinted concrete and 6-8 weeks for natural stone, Indian stone, block paving, man-made paving, slate, granite, brick, and stone. These timeframes are guidelines and may vary based on storage conditions and packaging.
Managing Sealer Blooming or Whitening
Blooming or whitening can affect any substrate and may occur with the initial sealer coat or during resealing. This issue is often due to moisture interacting with the sealer before it fully cures (10-14 hours). Rain or cool temperatures during this period can cause a ghosting or whitening effect, particularly noticeable on darker surfaces. Our bloom remover effectively addresses this problem.
Steps for Removing Moisture Ingress and Salt Issues
- Identify the problem: ensure the substrate was sealed within the recommended timeframe and check for moisture or rain during the curing process.
- Apply Bloom Remover: When the surface is completely dry, use a roller to apply Bloom Remover vigorously to the affected areas.
- Wait: Allow at least 4 hours for the Bloom Remover to work, letting the trapped moisture escape or the salts become translucent.
- No Need to Re-Seal: The surface should reform as a sealer coating once dry. There is usually no need to re-seal.
- Ensure Dry Conditions: Make sure the weather remains dry for 8-10 hours after application to prevent further issues.
- Ready for Use: The surface can be walked on after 4 hours and driven on after 24 hours.
Future Protection
Once the surface has been cleaned and treated, the next step is to protect it from future issues we have mentioned in this article.
They are available on our website: https://swiss-seal.co.uk/.