The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:56 pm**

I have around 70 sq m of Marshells Tegular tumbled blocks that are laid on a sloped drive. Because I am into classic cars I need to seal the drive before too much oil is spilt on it.

Now I know that Resiblock is the best stuff to use, but at Â£140+vat for 25ltrs and coverage of only 2sq m /ltr this works out at over Â£250 for the first coat! Do you need 2 coats or is one enough? Also which is better R 22 or Superior? Superior seems to give better oil protection but needs 2 coats (so they say) plus it is a gloss finish. R22 is matt but how good is it with oil?

I have also looked at Hexham "Castleseal-2" (2 part epoxy) which sounds good but does anyone have any experiance of it? Does it chip? Also because the drive is sloped, does it make the surface slippy? The sales rep said it was good for 25years? Really?

???

Techcon also sounds good, using a thinned "primer" coat followed by a full coat.

With both of these they don't seem to be able to give as much info as Resiblock, but they work out at less than Â£100 each for the whole drive.

Basically has anyone any experiance either way with these alternatives? If they need re-coating, and how they effect the surface traction?

Any help appreciated

Posted: **Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:34 am**

Resiblock is very good, but, as you've spotted, it's also a bit on the pricey side. As far as I know, the re-named R22 is just as good at repelling oil as the Superior, but you'd have to get Resiblock to confirm that.

Not so sure about Castleseal. It always seems to be very glossy when I see it and it's not a dedicated sealant for concrete block paving: it's more of a "general paving sealant", which always worries me, because that type of product is usually manufactured to suit the lowest common denominator, rather than provide the best protection for one particular type of surface.

Techcon is very popular with contractors because it's good and it represents reasonable value-for-money. It's certainly much better than the sort of jollop you can buy at B&Q and Homebase, but, as you say, the technical info is a bit sparse.

I would suggest you try contacting Nufins and asking the very affable Keiron Hanlon about their sealants, as they have a pretty wide range and each is manufactured to suit a particular set of circumstances. I'd hazard a guess that they have something that would be just the job for your paving, and at a price that won't need you to take out a second mortgage.

Nufins - 0191 416 8360

The Brew Cabin

Sealants and "slippyness"