Sealants for old block paving

[Jonny R]

Evening all.

I have moved into a house with a concrete block paved drive of indeterminate age, at least five years old and probably ten or more, laid in a herringbone pattern and covering about 100 square metres. It is in remarkably good shape in terms of levels, but was rather grubby. (It is overhung by a couple of large maple trees and so plenty of leaves and bird droppings land on it.)

I have scraped out all the grass, moss and weeds by hand with a hook and wire brush, and propose to give it a good clean with a powerwasher before resanding. Testing a small area reveals a lovely bright drive beneath the grime.
I am undecided whether then to:
(1) seal it with something like Resiblock Superior Matt which would make it look nice for now and might make it easier to clean bird droppings off, but am worried that in a few years it will start to flake and look worse;
(2) seal it with Resiblock 22 which seems to seal the jointing sand but not coat the top in the same way - which might make it safer to scrub or jetwash off the bird droppings over future years without damaging a surface coating; or
(3) just sand it and apply weedkiller then try to keep on top of the sweeping (although as the droppings set like glue some jetwashing is I think inevitable as they just don't brush off) without any sort of sealant.

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

[msh paving]

I would leave resiblock in the shops,very hard product to use and make a good job to many things have to be spot on, on old blocks it will look to shiny and new, better to leave alone and clean every couple off years or so.ask yourselF why don't town centres etc seal paving? MSH

[Jonny R]

Thanks - I'll put the money back in the piggy bank then.

[lutonlagerlout]

if you use a pressure washer yourself it will pay you dividends to apply a mild bleach mist 30 minutes before presume washing it
this helps loosen the algae
also if you cant get someone pro in,hire the biggest most powerful washer you can
those piddling little karcher ones are not worth a carrot IMHO
LLL