A water-based or solvent-based acrylic sealer can be applied to bare concrete treated with a standard densifier with no additional sealer added. However, epoxy, polyurea, and other higher performing coatings would require that the surface be treated via grinding first. It’s important to note that acrylic coatings do not perform well when petroleum products are introduced, particularly gas and solvents. Oil can rest for a while before staining. However, gas and solvents will soften acrylics and cause it to smear when cleaning. That is why they are not often recommended for garage environments.

will a topical acrylic sealer still bond to concrete that has been treated with a densifier. I remember in one of your videos you said U shouldn’t use a densifier if U plan to apply some type of coating. so I’m assuming acrylic film forming coatings would not be recommended on top of a densifier?

Hi Bruce. We would recommend PS103 if you want to install a flooring that won’t be affected by MVT. The reason is that you won’t need the benefits of the siliconate sealer added since the bare concrete will not be exposed. PS103 has more lithium content than PS104 because it doesn’t need to be mixed with the siliconate sealer.

For flooring, we would recommend interlocking floor tiles. It has channels underneath that allow air flow and the concrete to breathe. If you still have MVT after the densifier application, the air flow under the tiles will keep the concrete dry. We have an article about interlocking floor tiles here. These are a common solution for basements with MVT issues. Something else to consider is that though dehumidifiers keep the air dryer, they also create an atmosphere that MVT seeks out. You may want to run some tests of running it and not running about a week after the densifier is applied. This will give you a better idea if you should run it our not.

Hi Lindsay. You are talking apples and oranges 🙂 PS104 is a non-film forming penetrating sealer. Liquids and oils can still penetrate if allowed to sit long enough. What these sealers do is slow down the process and limit how much can penetrate the concrete. Acrylics sealers are film-forming topical coatings. Only coatings can completely stop oil and other liquids from penetrating the concrete. There is no need to apply a penetrating sealer if you apply an acrylic sealer. I would suggest reading our article here on garage floor sealers to get a better idea of the differences. Let me know what questions you have after that and I can make some suggestions to point you in the right direction based on your requirements.