Paver sealers are used to protect the pavers from damage and stains. Sometimes sealers lend a wonderful finishing effect and often add a glossy look thus; they further enhance the beauty of the pavers, making them look nice, colorful and vibrant. The finishing coat aids easy cleaning and maintenance. This also affords a far solid and stronger effect on the patio, walkway, or driveway and makes them long lasting. You could resort to cleaning pavers and then sealing pavers every year or so to make them look fresh and attractive.
Types of Paver Sealers
There are two basic kinds of products when sealing pavers. They are Film Formers and Penetrants. The Film Formers affords major protection against the adverse action of water and other elements of contamination. These sealers lend a shiny finish to the surface, making it far more attractive and long lasting. However, film formers are effective only for the top few layers. Penetrants easily seep through the numerous pores on the surface and reach even the bottom most layers. They are water as well as stain resistant. They provide protection against the deteriorating influence of water and other elements of weather over a period of time. They afford durability and longevity to the surface.
Paver sealers are either solvent based or water based.
Which is the Best Paver Sealer?
To come to a conclusion regarding which type of paver sealer is best, you have to decide on what exactly you want to attain by getting your pavers sealed. Is stain-resistance your objective or water-proofing your sole priority? You have to decide whether you prefer a natural finish or a glossy effect. Depending on what your priorities are, you should choose the suitable paver sealers to get the desired effects. If you need to seal pool pavers you should consider what your requirement is and then choose what is best for you. Some sealers will highlight the colors in the pool while others may afford sheen and still others may help resisting stains. Similarly you should choose the best sealers as per your requirements when you need to seal your patio, driveways or pathways.
Water based versus Solvent Based Sealers
Water-based sealers are eco-friendly, non-inflammable and non-hazardous. Water based sealers are not only effective they are also free from toxic fumes or odors and are not harmful to plants or any building materials. They are environmentally safe and are multi-dimensional known for multi-tasking. They afford long lasting effect on the pavers. Though water based sealers have no health or safety hazards, they have a few drawbacks. They take much longer to dry and do not penetrate as easily as solvent based sealers do. These sealers are not messy and are easy to use and apply as you do not need to blend different constituents. However, Water based sealers need two coats of application for effective water proofing purposes.
Solvent based sealers are known for better penetration than the water based sealers. When acrylic is dissolved in a solvent it penetrates deeper and they therefore give better protection from undesired wear and tear. The solvent based sealers are stain resistant and they provide a surface which can easily be recoated. These products are also clouding resistant so a whitish coat over the paver can be avoided due to their application. These oil based sealers provide protection against efflorescence, calcium formation, rusting, algae, mold and mildew. However the solvent based sealers are known to have quite high volatile organic compound (VOC) rating and are considered to pose both health as well as safety hazards.