Hello,
I have about a week ago had a lovely Indian sandstone patio fitted. The stones are sawn and sandblasted which look fantastic. My wife and I are really pleased with it and want to preserve it as it is with a dry look. We have bought a gallon of sealer called Universeal Rapid All in 1 and I have tried a bit. Here's where I have some questions:
Firstly - I (foolishly) applied the sealer to a couple of test slabs with a paint brush which took forever and the results aren't brilliant. I applied it as evenly as I could and right after application the coverage looked even. When dry it looks fine but after today's rain there are visible stripes on the slabs which don't look good at all. Does anyone know what is the best way to 'even out' the sealer on these slabs - is it a simple case of applying some more on top with a sprayer?
Secondly - What type of sprayer should I use? The manufacturer makes a 'pump' sprayer bottle but these are very expensive. Could I use an electric paint sprayer instead (one that is solvent-proof)? Has anyone got any experience and advise on using one of these or are there any other suggestions?
Thirdly - The manufacturer also states that application can be done with a sponge. Is this the recommended method for an even coverage and if so, has anyone got any hints and tips on how to proceed for the best results in terms of type of sponge and method of application?
Any advise on this would be greatly appreciated.
Mika
How to seal indian sandstone? - How to seal indian sandstone
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lutonlagerlout
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MikaL
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Thanks for the advice LLL. If the Universeal product doesn't fit the bill I will have a look at lithofin. I am intrigued by your application method using a 'simple' spray mister. Did this result in an even coverage even when the slabs get rained on? Can you tell me more about the actual application method? Do you know if Lithofin is solvent-based? I have no idea whether this is true or not but I have read the descriptions of some spray bottles that are intended for general gardening use and they seem not to be intended for solvent-based liquids.
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lutonlagerlout
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well mikal it wasnt scientific but i just filled it and sprayed it making sure to get full coverage, you can ask at extensive.co.uk they are leading suppliers of lithofin products ,which being german are likely the best
the most i stood to lose was a £1 wilko sprayer,so wasnt worried either way,cheaper than a paint brush and 10 times faster
LLL
the most i stood to lose was a £1 wilko sprayer,so wasnt worried either way,cheaper than a paint brush and 10 times faster
LLL
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MikaL
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Thanks again LLL. Some good progress tonight. Despite the fresh muddy cat paw-prints that I had to first clean off, I managed to try and rectify my mistake with good success...
I bought a cheap small handheld garden mister and tried a fresh untreated slab with it as well as a previously treated 'stripy-when-wet' one. Afer a good spraying, both came out nice and even. I re-wetted them with a good soaking with the garden hose and the water beaded off nicely with no stripes or other uneven patterns present - phew and hooray!
I did however realise that the mister is not up to the full job as I got loads of sealant on my hand and also realised that the remaining ~89 sq m of the patio would still take far too long with a hand-sprayer like that. Tomorrow I will go and buy a 5-litre pump-pressure-sprayer or whatever one of those is called and do the job with that (I hope) - not the very expensive Universeal one but a more generic garden sprayer which I hope will be suitable.
I want to capitalise on the good weather at the moment despite the claims on the sealant container and the Universeal website which state that the product can be applied to damp slabs and pointing. Enough has gone wrong already.
More to follow after I've had a go with the new sprayer tomorrow.
I bought a cheap small handheld garden mister and tried a fresh untreated slab with it as well as a previously treated 'stripy-when-wet' one. Afer a good spraying, both came out nice and even. I re-wetted them with a good soaking with the garden hose and the water beaded off nicely with no stripes or other uneven patterns present - phew and hooray!
I did however realise that the mister is not up to the full job as I got loads of sealant on my hand and also realised that the remaining ~89 sq m of the patio would still take far too long with a hand-sprayer like that. Tomorrow I will go and buy a 5-litre pump-pressure-sprayer or whatever one of those is called and do the job with that (I hope) - not the very expensive Universeal one but a more generic garden sprayer which I hope will be suitable.
I want to capitalise on the good weather at the moment despite the claims on the sealant container and the Universeal website which state that the product can be applied to damp slabs and pointing. Enough has gone wrong already.
More to follow after I've had a go with the new sprayer tomorrow.
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local patios and driveway
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MikaL
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- Location: Staines
Right, after a frustrating wait due to the recent rain and the resulting additional muddy paw-prints which were everywhere and required a further jet-washing job, I finally managed to proceed with the sealing during the weekend.
I contacted the manufacturer of Universeal directly for advice and they cut me a good deal on their expensive-but-now-more-reasonable sprayer as well as some more sealant.
The sprayer which is one of those large (2 gallon or so) plastic vessels with a pump you operate to create pressure and a hose/spray lance with a trigger worked extremely well. I treated the whole ~90 sq m patio in probably 45 minutes with really good results. The spray pattern of the 'default' nozzle was not a circle but a 'line' and this worked really well for my purpose. I didn't really have to think too hard about what I was doing to achieve an even coverage as the tool was so easy to use. Simply pour in the sealant, give it a good pumping and spray away. Pump some more when you start losing pressure and keep topping up the sealant when you run low/out. Note that if anyone has a go with the same product and a similar sprayer set-up, you go through quite a bit of sealant if you're not careful.
The original 'stripey' slabs are now totally stripe-free meaning that the additional layer seems to have treated them evenly and the newly treated areas are equally as good. Water simply beads off except after a really good soaking by prolonged rain after which water does penetrate slightly especially in the joins but this doesn't bother me at all. I haven't deliberately spilled any red wine or BBQ oil on the patio yet to see how easy/hard it would be to get off but I am sure that it will be easier now than before. Time will tell if the product continues to perform as well as it does at the moment but so far I am very happy and would recommend it.
Thanks for all the advice LLL and local patios and driveways (I don't have one so therefore didn't try with a paint gun but thanks for the tip anyway).
I contacted the manufacturer of Universeal directly for advice and they cut me a good deal on their expensive-but-now-more-reasonable sprayer as well as some more sealant.
The sprayer which is one of those large (2 gallon or so) plastic vessels with a pump you operate to create pressure and a hose/spray lance with a trigger worked extremely well. I treated the whole ~90 sq m patio in probably 45 minutes with really good results. The spray pattern of the 'default' nozzle was not a circle but a 'line' and this worked really well for my purpose. I didn't really have to think too hard about what I was doing to achieve an even coverage as the tool was so easy to use. Simply pour in the sealant, give it a good pumping and spray away. Pump some more when you start losing pressure and keep topping up the sealant when you run low/out. Note that if anyone has a go with the same product and a similar sprayer set-up, you go through quite a bit of sealant if you're not careful.
The original 'stripey' slabs are now totally stripe-free meaning that the additional layer seems to have treated them evenly and the newly treated areas are equally as good. Water simply beads off except after a really good soaking by prolonged rain after which water does penetrate slightly especially in the joins but this doesn't bother me at all. I haven't deliberately spilled any red wine or BBQ oil on the patio yet to see how easy/hard it would be to get off but I am sure that it will be easier now than before. Time will tell if the product continues to perform as well as it does at the moment but so far I am very happy and would recommend it.
Thanks for all the advice LLL and local patios and driveways (I don't have one so therefore didn't try with a paint gun but thanks for the tip anyway).