Residue on Concrete Slab is Dulling the New Finish

[QCJLo]

I just finished installing a new fiberglass pool (about 2 months ago). I had a very large concrete slab poured around it. The contractor sealed the concrete and for about the first week the water beaded up and the finish was brilliant and glossy.

Fast forward a few weeks and the water on the concrete no longer beads up and there is a white residue over it that is destroying the look that I wanted to achieve with my concrete.

The levels in the pool are good. It was a little up and down at the start (ie: chlorine levels very low; ph really high; low to non-existent CYA). All of that is now in a very good range. The only exception to that is the CH (tested today at 400 ppm). We naturally have hard water here in Burbank, CA. So that accounts for why the CH is on the higher side. It is our belief that this hard water is the cause of our dulled finish on the concrete.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? What do you recommend doing in order to get our concrete looking like the $9K that we spent on it (stamped and colored)?!

 

[Guest]

Topical sealer or impregnator?

 

[QCJLo]

I'm trying to find out from my concrete guy. I'm not sure which he used. What's the difference and which (if any) is the better one to use?

 

[Guest]

A topical sealer will sit on top of the surface and will be affected by U/V light, requiring additional sanding/sealing/reapplication over time. An impregnating sealer will go in to the concrete and seal, not just sit on the surface.

I prefer impregnating sealers over the topical, as they tend to hold up much better and require less attention.

 

[QCJLo]

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I started doing some research on Topical & Impregnating sealers. That seems to be the reason why my concrete is doing this. Everything points to a topical sealer that was used due to the fact that we wanted a shine and the color intensified. An Impregnating sealer would not provide that effect.

I also learned that not applying topical sealers at the right time (heat of the day) or under the right conditions (concrete still wet) that this would have the adverse reaction that I'm having right now.

My concrete guy is not going to be happy!

 

[sandybeach]

hi, concrete guy here in minnesota , we do a lot of pool decks. don't panic all your concrete guy has to do is reseal , the xylene in the sealer will break down the old sealer and make it look brand new again. your going to have to real seal every 3-4 years anyway to keep the shine, just be careful of what sealer you use.

 

[QCJLo]

What sealer do you recommend? I want that wet shine finish.

The concrete is stamped and colored. The concrete guy put sand (Silica I believe) into the sealer before he applied it by means of an air-sprayer. This resulted in a non-slip finish. But could this contribute to the lack of shine I currently have? Should something else have been used instead of sand? I am aware of specific products that are available (ie: Shark Grip, etc). The grip turned out really nice on the concrete using the sand, but if it contributes to a lackluster finish, then we need to proceed in a different direction.