Bradstone smooth silver grey sandstone and sealers

[Vikinggroundworker]

Hello folks - I need some help and advice....

I have currently laid approx 20m2 of this Bradstone silver grey honed sandstone- ( quite horrible pale stuff and wont use again...) . All laid and bedded well with SBR etc.....
After laying and before pointing at the recommendation from local builders yard and supplier I used Everbuild Geofix stone protector and sealer to 'seal and protect' it - left it 4 days then put the swept in resin jointing in. Job done I thought.
Customer notices a few days later bird crap and plant droppings are still leaving marks on this pale sandstone after sealing.
I contacted Bradstone technical support who recommend United Stonecare / Extensive products for sealing ( Patio Seal Porous Plus) their stone and can also help with advice. Apparently The Geo Fix sealer is naff and the United Stonecare Sealer is the dogs danglies and will stop marks and stains on this pale stone ( but is 4 times the price)
My questions are -
Can Everbuild Geofix be removed and should I try?
Is The United Stonecare Patio Seal Porous Plus any good and worth using? will it stop bird and berry stains?
Is this pale honed stuff really an easily marking nightmare?

Never had this problem with good 'ole fashioned riven Indian Sandstone....

[Tony McC]

If only you'd run a search on GeoFix in this forum *before* trasjhing the paving with it. In almost 20 years, we've yet to see a good word posted about that useless product!

The GeoFix jointing is easy to remove, far too easy, so easy that it's more of an effort to *stop* it falling out. Use a patio weeding tool to hoick it out with consummate ease.

As for the sealant, you should check with Everbuild but from memory I think the solvent is xylene - read the FAQ

I undertook extensive trials of various sealants a few years back, but United did not put forward a sample for inclusion. Judging from feedback to the website, it's not too bad, but it's not up there with the best, apparently.

[Vikinggroundworker]

Thank you for responding Tony,

Everbuild Tech support recon hot pressure washing will remove the sealer - I will have to try. what are your thoughts?

I have read your sealant trials but went with United Porous plus Sealant as recommended by Bradstone Tech support. This was tried on another adjacent patio area of same stone and it seems quite good so far...

This silver grey honed sandstone stuff is a real pain - I've laid other colours with no problem. Probably really slippery as well!

[Tony McC]

This notion of a hot water pressure wash to remove a sealant worries me, partly because any sealant that comes off with hot water can;t really be up to much, but also because, when I watched someone trying it, the results were abysmal.

Maybe a steam cleaner would work better, but even so, an sealant that can't withstand water of any temperature has to be a worry, doesn't it.

Regarding United, as I said, they didn't submit a sample, so my comments are limited to regurgitating anecdotal tales from other users. It does seem to have a reasonable rep. but I;ve never actually used it meself.

[RAPressureWashing]

Tony, hot water alone doesn't always remove failed sealers etc, you usually need a chemical of some sort depending what is being removed as well, as for the "hot" water, more like saturated steam, anything from 120-150c, so a Doff or Torik machine etc, one specific to the work.

I see so many people these offering advice as in how to do this and do that, with no clue or not actually done the work themselves!!!

[Tony McC]

The growth in the number of self-appointed 'cleaning specialists' is becoming more of a worry. I've seen some daft suggestions, some nonsensical solution, and some downright dangerous solutions to cleaning issues and they seem to be occurring with incresed frequency. The knobhead on the pavingexpert video channel that suggested removing oil stains from sett paving by dousing in petrol and throwing a match at it deserves a very special place reserved just for him in A&E!

That someone from a recognised supplier is freely suggesting that hot water will remove a failed sealant falls into the 'nonsensical' category, but is a fair reflection of the lack of knowledge and experience that is out there.