Trowel Spin – April 2026

“Sealer is a really big word.”

   Jane Johnson loved the outdoors. She had a modest house with an oversized garage, a nice brushed concrete driveway along with a stamped walkway leading to the back patio. Her husband Bill was the operations manager at a multinational steel company.

Bill loved Jane, loved his job, and made lots of money. But when Jane asked if he would reseal the driveway and patio, he just raised the credit limit on their RBC card and told her to figure it out.

So, she went to Local Rental Shop and asked for concrete sealer. The guy brought her 3 buckets of cure and seal and collected her money.

“Put it on good and thick my lady”, the dude said, “and it will shine like your neighbours BMW!”

That’s what Jane did. And it shone, for a while. Then it bubbled, then it peeled. And then it looked like crap.

And that’s when Jane went to Concrete Supply Place. “I need sealer”, she told the dude by the desk. “Sealer for concrete.”

Jimmy was the dude by the desk. He looked at her. “Sealer is a really big word madam,” he said.

“Well so far it’s been a bad one,” Jane replied, “that’s all I know.”

“What are you trying to do?” Jimmy asked, “We have a full range of Nox-crete products.”

“I want my stamped stuff to look nice, my driveway to stay nice and my garage floor to clean nice. Anything else you need to know?” She adjusted her sunglasses to capture more hair behind them, rested one foot on the toe of her flip-flop, put her hand on her hip and looked back at him.

“Well, let’s start with your stamped concrete,” Jimmy replied, walking over to the sealer displays, “We have Natraseal and Sparklseal. Natraseal has 15% solids while Sparklseal has 25% solids.”

“What does that mean, Jane asked, I heard the septic guy talk about solids last week, is it similar?”

Jimmy laughed. “It’s like this, he explained. Solids give the sealer more density. The higher the solids, the shinier it is, but it is also easier to get it applied to thickly. It is very important not to apply it too thick. Or the concrete can’t breathe and you risk it bubbling and peeling and discoloring.”

Jane raised her eyebrows about an inch and nodded. “I think I understand,” she said, “go on.”

Jimmy did go on, trying not to notice her makeup crusting above her eyes.  “Natraseal will give you more of a matte look but will naturally have less risk of over applying. Sparklseal will give you more shine, just be careful not to over apply. You can spray it on and back roll with a roller to get it applied evenly and thinly. So, it’s a conscious practical choice you need to make.

“Ok, what about my driveway” Jane asked.

“Well, you can technically use the same approach as your stamped concrete.” Jimmy replied, “but I wouldn’t. A driveway gets more wear and tear. Instead of focusing on appearance I would think about protection. I would apply Weathersil Extreme. It is exclusively a penetrating sealer rather than a coating. It will penetrate your concrete and resist moisture and avoid freeze thaw popping damage. It will leave your concrete looking natural. It is also designed to last much longer.”

“That makes sense,” Jane crossed one arm across her chest, rested her other elbow on it and put her chin into her hand. “And my garage?”

Jimmy pointed to the Duronox HSC bucket. “Again, you can simply seal it with an acrylic sealer. Make a nice shiny coat over it. But it will take on-going maintenance. And probably wear differently throughout your floor depending on its use.  I would apply a Duronox densifier, it penetrates the surface of the concrete and hardens it. It creates a floor that is dust free and easier to clean. And it wears well. Typically, it becomes shinier with wear. But it will not totally protect from staining. If you spill red wine or oil, it may stain.”

“Well, I don’t drink and you won’t catch Bill changing any oil,” Jane said. “And Bill can drink on the patio. I think the densifier should work well.”

“What’s that other stuff?” she asked pointing at a bucket marked Cure & Seal 309.

“That’s a cure & seal; it doesn’t have penetrating and little protective qualities. It is largely to create a membrane over new concrete for curing purposes.”

Jane nodded. “Just suppose…,” she said slowly, “Just suppose, for some reason a random person had a thick coat of bad sealer on their concrete already. How would someone like that get it off?”

“That would be Deco Peel,” Jimmy responded. “It’s a bunch of work, but it’s a clean process and it works quite well.”

Jane sighed, “Would it work to remove makeup?”

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That night over Lasagna and Sprout salad, Bill said. “Tell me something interesting Jane.”  

Jane rubbed her eyes. “Sealer is a big word,” she answered. “A really, really big word. But at least Jimmy helps break it down. He is such a dear.”

Bills fork froze in mid-air. “Jimmy??”

Jane laughed, “Ya the kid over at the concrete supply place.”