First Review - Dupont Stone-Tech Saltwater Resistant Sealer

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Sciz Milson

Sciz Milson

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Nov 13, 2012
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Hi all!

Well I promised I would post a brief review of the Dupont Stone-Tech Saltwater Resistant Sealer once I had an opportunity to apply. With all of the rainy and cold weather we've had, I haven't had the chance to get the process started until this morning.

Below is the initial product application review (fieldstone coping only). Performance and aesthetic reviews to follow in subsequent updates.

MAN THIS STUFF IS THIN! That's the first thing that came to my mind. It's almost water-like viscosity when I was expecting something a little more like other paver sealers I have used in the past. I ordered the 1 gallon jug from Amazon and got it at a discount to the local distributor. The product is milky white in color and has very little noticeable odor (being applied outdoors).

The product calls for application with a nylon bristle brush or a roller. I used a 6" short nap roller so I could control the "spread". I tried with the brush but the stuff is so thin it barely held on to the bristles. A lot of the product also ended up running in the space between the pavers on the deck and the coping.

The product rolled on fairly easily but I had to be careful not to "roll" too far over the side of the coping on the pool side because of the quick spread. Some of the product did ultimately drip into the pool - I wish I could have gotten this done earlier just for that reason. I am not certain how I am going to apply to the front of the coping without getting some product in the water - I guess I will have to be careful and maybe use a hard plastic barrier.

The initial results after about 30 minutes did not give me the impression it's going to be a high-gloss finish. Looks more like an eggshell finish but future reviews will flesh all of those details out.

The cure time for this product is 72 hours - so that means I am waiting until Sunday to do any swimming or cleaning - just as well - the temps here are dropping back into the high 70's/low 50's for a few days so I can wait.

The product calls for a second coat after the first where de-icing products will be used. Even though we don't use de-icers in my neck of the woods, for my app. 80' of 2' coping I used probably a 3rd of the gallon, so I think a second coat will be in order in any case.

I'm not sure if this product is any better than your favorite paver/concrete sealer for non-salt water areas, but with respect to the salt-water resistancy I am in it for the peace of mind and the price was reasonable.

Let me know if anyone has questions.

Best,

Sciz Milson
 
Re: First Review - Dupont Stone-Tech Saltwater Resistant Sea

Glad you asked MITS...

So we were able to get some real swimming in this past weekend, with all of the attendant splashing, etc. On Monday afternoon my wife pointed out small white areas on the coping she thought to be salt. Since I haven't seen it before I have to assume it was small salt deposits so I would say from a performance basis, it's doing what it is supposed to. This product does cause the water to bead, although if you are looking for a glossy surface, the product is not going to meet you needs. I would say it darkened the coping upon immediate application and shortly thereafter, but after full cure there is no discernible difference on the shine/gloss factor. I wanted a bit more shine so I am going to contact Dupont and see if I can add a higher gloss product over the original application.

More to come...

Best,

Sciz
 
Re: First Review - Dupont Stone-Tech Saltwater Resistant Sea

It did not really darken the coping - which is what I was hoping for. I will be looking for another product to darken and provide a bit more gloss.

Best,

Sciz
 
I just applied the DuPont Saltwater sealer as well this past weekend. I think Sciz's review of application was right on the money so I won't repeat everything. However to confirm, it is very watery so don't sop up the roller! Low and slow worked best. I had my wife following about 5 mins behind me me with a clean microfiber towel to wipe up any pooling sealer and excess for a nice even coat (per instructions). I highly recommend doing it this way. It made the job a little faster and more thorough.

I have bull nose travertine coping so she was also able to use the towel to lightly dip and apply sealer over the edge and underneath with only a random dribble or two in the pool. Nothing too significant. The travertine was hot so it was completely dry to touch in 20 mins. If it's hot when you apply, you'll want to get after the cleanup fairly quick. It wipes up very easily off of the decking or caulking if you catch it in 5-10 mins.

We circled back around and applied a second coat for peace of mind. I found it really easy to work with but again, don't soak the roller or you'll be pushing sealer right over the edge! I used a concrete/short nap roller which did a pretty good job of getting in all the nooks of the travertine and grout. With two coats I only used half a gallon which is great. It goes a long way. I have "honey" colored travertine and noticed very little change in color or shine. Definitely not the wet look (which I didn't want). Now I'll wait another day or two and test it out. Application was a little tedious, but on a 1-10 scale of difficulty only about a 4 due to having to take your time and be careful not to dump sealer in the pool. Two coats took about two hours. Not bad at all especially if it holds up for 2-3 years at a time. We'll see...
 
I recently sealed out travertine with the Dupont Saltwater sealer and initially am impressed with the way water beads up on it verses the standard sealer we used last summer after installation which resulted in some slight deterioration in a few coping pieces. I'm hoping this much higher priced sealer pays off this summer and the next few.


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Did anyone push the cure time in hotter weather? That is if it is 95 during the day (applying in the evening) does the cure happen quicker than 72 hours?

I just had about 25 flagstones replaced in my coping and deck and the pool repair company applied Dupont's salt water sealer. They of course didn't read any directions and just sprayed it on with a hand sprayer. Thought I read you shouldn't do that but didn't see it spelled out in the directions. Plenty went into the pool so hope that doesn't cause any long term issues. They were letting it pool on the surface of the rock so I made them wipe it up with microfiber towels since I know that can cause problems with yellowing over time.

Just 12 hours later the little water that was accidentally spilled beaded up, it did soak in over time so I am drying it when it gets on. No swimming for now trying to figure out if I should give it the full 72 hours or not. I bought a gallon myself as I was going to seal it so I will be redoing it likely in the fall.

How often are you all reapplying? I think spray application and quick wipe up makes this a very quick maintenance task.
 
Spoke to Dupont Stone-Tech technical support, he said that it would cure fast in the heat but wouldn't push it too much. Apparently if this stuff gets wet before it cures the water can interfere with the silicon that is used to seal and can cause white hazing. This is very difficult (he said nearly impossible) to fix if it occurs which is where the 72 hours comes from.

He also mentioned that the sprayer method works fine and that you could use a cotton mop (one of the big ones) to help remove and redistribute the excess sealer rather than microfiber towels.

In addition once the sealer has been applied it is difficult to add more unless it is in the first 30-40 minutes of the first coat application. His comment was that it is a water based sealer and the sealer that has dried/cured will repel the additional sealer. I guess you could do it if you were careful about removing any excess that wasn't being absorbed into the rock. I may try to add some more this fall when it is easier to close the pool for 72 hours, will just have to worry about rain.

@Sseaman - what do you cover it with? How do you keep it from blowing away? I am thinking just thin plastic painting tarps or something.
 
Hello. I am finalizing a contract with a PB (joepaiii, I'm in Prosper; my wide works for Allen ISD). Lots of boulders around pool, weeping wall, coping, and pavers for the deck. I want to go with a SWCG. PB cautions against SWCG because of corrosive effect on stone. Said I would seal it; PB says it would have to be done annually. Is this correct? For those who have sealed, how is the sealant holding up? Also, did anyone seal their stone before the pool was completed or did you seal after the job was done? I have this vision in my head of sealing the coping myself after the subs measure and cut, letting it cure, then having the subs install. Boulders I can seal w/out worrying about the subs having to cut. Any thoughts, advice?
 
First, you should know that DuPont says to reseal every 3-5 years. They would probably make a lot more money saying every year, so you may want to factor their recommendation. For my SWG pool subject to some saltwater air in Florida facing due South, I'm tempted to say that 2-3 years is the realistic lifespan. I'm one year in and repellent factor still appears to be 100%.

As far as the DIY pre-seal, I guess that's one approach. I feel really good about the after final install approach that we used. The complexity of the installers making measurements, cuts and then immediately installing would have just put me in their way.
 
Our first pool was salt water with Arizona flagstone coping. We didn't seal it, and there was a lot of erosion/damage to the flagstone with nearly constant sand deposits into pool that needed regular cleaning. I'd estimate the coping will need to be replaced at some point. This is the big problem the pool builders for our second pool sited as to reasons why they didn't recommend salt water.

I'm curious how natural stone is holding up over 4-5 years using this sealer? We're in the first month of the new pool so no salt added yet. I did seal (2 coats) the stone before we filled. Would love to hear some long term results on the sealer before we make decision to add the salt.
 

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