For many home owners a primary concern is to seal the concrete of their garage floor in order to protect it from water intrusion, dusting, road salts, pitting, and most important, to help resist oil stains. If you want to do this at the best value and without concern about having the latest decorative finish or coating for your garage floor, then a siliconate penetrating concrete sealer may be all that you need.
Why? Although decorative garage floor coatings such as epoxy look great and do a good job of sealing the concrete, there are people who have simple “working” garages. They are not as concerned about how nice a concrete sealer looks, but rather how well it performs without a lot of expense and preparation. If you think this may be you, then here is why you need to consider a siliconate concrete sealer.
What makes a siliconate sealer different than a coating is the fact that it actually penetrates (hence the name) into the concrete floor to create a protective barrier at the sub surface. Other garage floor sealers such as acrylic, epoxy, and polyurethanes are topical in nature. They sit on top of the surface to form a protective film or coating.
A siliconate sealer works by permeating into the pores of the concrete and chemically reacting with carbon dioxide. This reaction creates a cross-linking molecular membrane barrier that is hydrophobic. This barrier is effective at repelling water and other liquids such as chemicals, salts, and oil. It’s this barrier that helps prevent liquids from transferring through the surface. In essence, water, automotive fluids, and most other liquids will tend to bead or sheet instead.
How a siliconate penetrating sealer works on a concrete garage floor
Furthermore, the chemical reaction that fills the pores and capillaries within the upper surface of the slab also tends to strengthen the surface of the concrete as well. While not as effective as a densifier for surface strength, it does help with surface wear none the less.
Concrete Siliconate Sealer Benefits
- Forms a hydrophobic barrier to help prevent intrusion of water and other liquids
- Reduces staining including oil, gas, and other automotive fluids
- Helps to prevent pitting, spalling, and surface cracks from water absorption
- Reduces concrete dusting and helps prevent efflorescence
- Helps to prevent the harmful effects of road salts and deicing fluids
- Inhibits mold and mildew growth
- Breathable, water based and low in VOC’s
- Excellent for garage floors, driveways, walkways, patios, and basement floors
- Low cost delivers one of the best values in concrete sealers
As stated, additional benefits to consider include mold and mildew resistance as well as protection from the harmful effects of road salts and deicing fluids. This means that if your garage temperatures drop below freezing overnight, the surface will be protected from the pitting and spalling that can occur due to the expanding effects of freeze thaw cycles from melted snow and deicing fluids that can seep into the concrete.
Siliconate sealers dry to a natural looking finish without any sheen. And because a penetrating sealer is non film forming, it allows for the same anti-slip protection as bare concrete. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about damaging the sealer if you drag sharp objects across the garage floor when working on cars or projects. They are also a favorite concrete sealer for driveways, walkways, and patios.
Other factors to consider are expense and ease of application. This is what makes a siliconate concrete sealer for your garage floor one of the best values you can find. Most 2-car garages will require only one or two gallons of sealer depending on the manufacturer. Cost is usually less than $50 a gallon for a quality product and application is much easier than applying a coating or even paint for that matter. Expect it to last up to 10 years or more before a new application is necessary.
One thing to be aware of is that penetrating sealers for concrete do not seal cracks. Cracks will still need to be repaired first in order to seal the garage floor properly.
Will a siliconate sealer stop oil stains in concrete?
There is one point that we want to make clear. Though siliconate concrete sealers can be fairly resistant to oil stains, they are not stain proof. In fact, there is not a penetrating sealer available that is. Only a commercial quality garage floor coating will provide close to stain proof oil protection.
The reason for this is that penetrating sealers are non-film forming. Unlike coatings, they seal the concrete at the subsurface. However, what makes a siliconate sealer unique is that they consist of a relatively larger molecular structure than most other penetrating sealers. This allows for better surface protection and better resistance to oil stains than most other concrete sealers.
For the best protection from oil stains when using a penetrating sealer, it’s important to clean them up as you see them and not let them dwell or sit for a long time. If they do sit, they will eventually seep into the very upper layer of the concrete surface and can possibly leave a faint stain once cleaned.
Siliconate sealers that we recommend
There are two products we like to recommend that work extremely well and get great reviews. The first is PS101 by Concrete Sealers USA
It only wears down as the concrete wears down and can also be used as a “cure and seal” for new concrete. Application is easy with no special mixing required. The coverage rate is 300 – 450 ft² per gallon for machine troweled and smooth finishes.
Purchase PS101 here from Amazon
After speaking with a representative from Concrete Sealers USA, they recommend their PS102 if you have a broom finished garage floor. It’s formulated for the more porous surface that a broom finish provides. PS102 also works extremely well for driveways, walkways, and patios since these are typically a more porous finish as well. Expect a coverage rate of 200-300ft² per gallon for these type of applications. Just as the PS101, It can be also be used as a “cure and seal” for newly poured concrete.
Purchase PS102 here from Amazon
The second product we can recommend is Armor SC25 by Fountation Armor. Besides garage floors, this penetrating siliconate sealer is developing a strong reputation for use on driveways, walkways, patios, and basements.
The coverage rate is 200 – 250 ft² for machine troweled or smooth dense surfaces and 100 – 150 ft² for a broom finish or rough surface. Just as the PS101, SC25 is water based and no special mixing is required. One note to make is that Foundation Armor does not recommend SC25 as a “cure and seal” for freshly poured concrete.
Purchase SC25 here from Amazon
One thing to pay close attention to is the spelling for penetrating sealers. For instance, a popular seller at home improvement centers is silicone sealers. Notice the difference? Silicone versus siliconate. It’s easy to miss this.
We do not recommend a silicone sealer for a garage floor or outside on walkways, driveways, and patios. The reason is that they tend to sit more on top of the surface and do not penetrate as well.
Though they have good hydrophobic and oileophobic properties, they wear down at the surface extremely quick and lose their sealing properties. Yearly reapplication is recommended. They also are not U.V. resistant and will deteriorate over time when exposed to sunlight.
Applying a penetrating sealer to your garage floor
Make sure the surface of the garage floor is free of dust and oil. Clean up any oil spills that may have accumulated and scrub the surface of your garage floor with TSP and a stiff bristled brush. A floor maintainer with a black pad works even better.
Rinse off the surface with a hose and let it thoroughly dry – usually 24 hours is sufficient unless the humidity is up. When ready, apply the sealer with a low pressure pump sprayer or roller and paint brush. Do not let it puddle till dry or it will leave a white chalky substance that is hard to remove. The area should be ready for traffic in 12 hours. That’s it!
Once done, you will have a natural looking surface that is protected for the next 10 years or more depending on traffic. So if you are the no frills, “working” garage type of person that wants to protect their garage floor with minimal preparation and expense, then a siliconate penetrating garage floor sealer is definitely worthy of your consideration.
Thank you very much ! I have one last question – I read several of your articles and discovered the hydrochloric acid gel product for etching. My reading of these articles and your comments would be that the most superior etching job would still be with hydrochloric or phosphoric acid but we know the handling and potential safety issues. May I conclude that you think the gel-acid products are much better etching products than citric acid, yet not quite as effective as traditional hydrochloric acid? They seem to have the advantages of more environmentally friendly, & easier cleanup, but much more costly? I don’t mind the extra expense of the gel, but I do not want to compromise the etching quality since these epoxy coatings are thin. For light foot traffic, 2 cars in and out of a garage, and a clear coat on top of the rustoleum epoxy will I be happy with the acid-gel etch ? or is the good old toxic hydrochloric acid still the best possible prep for this job?
The gel products work extremely well Lindsay. They are generally used by contractors where grinding is not an option. You may be spending more to etch your concrete with gels, however, than you have spent on the coating. If it were us, the standard muriatic or phosphoric acid etch is the more economically feasible choice for the inexpensive type of coating you have chosen to apply.
Post-etch follow-up and few more questions It’s a 500 sq ft new garage floor (3 mo concrete) and etching was not easy. After 2 treatments with 3:1 water:muriatic on first part of the floor with 5 min etching, I went to 2:1 water:muriatic for 15 min treatments and its mostly etched. After thorough hose rinsing, I power washed the entire floor and here’s what I have: Most of the floor resembles 100 to 150 grit sandpaper but there are still smooth spots. 1) Do I still need to remove these ? After it dried there is still residue on the floor (‘powder’ removed with a damp cloth). 2) Do I just have to keep power washing these until residue is gone? (I don’t think I have too much acid – baking soda solution does not react with damp spots). One area has some gold streaks (too much acid?). 3) Will epoxy cover these? One high acid area had some residue I tried to scrub and now I have a 1 in diameter hole (1/2 in deep). I have rinsed it, dried it and it has a gummy white material inside. 4) Can I use the rustoleum (or other) epoxy concrete patch for this, then epoxy seal over it? just patch this over the gummy stuff ? My plan is to patch the hole, power wash floor until residue is gone, pH check the dried/dampened floor, dry for 2 or 3 days then epoxy. …. Any feedback ???? Shea you have been SO helpful. Thank YOU !
Wow, Linda. You went aggressively overboard on the etching. A 2:1 ration can damage your concrete as evident by the hole you have and the streaks in the concrete. The biggest concern is going to be if one coat of epoxy will be enough to get a good color uniformity due to the lower solids epoxy you are using. That aggressive of an etch is going to allow the concrete to absorb more of the coating than usual. It’s important that you get most of the white powder up. You have an excess amount of it due to the aggressive etch. The white powder is the concrete at the surface that was broken down. Power washing helps, just make sure you let the concrete dry for a few days or so. You can use the Rust-Oleum epoxy concrete patch providing the hole is dry and you get the gummy stuff out (can’t tell you what that is at the moment).
Thanks for this and other articles. What do you recommend for removing old arcrylic sealer?
My garage floor was replaced in 2010, very good job, but they used an acrylic sealer which only lasted a couple of years. I put on another coat and it also started peeling quickly. I plan to go with your suggestion of using PS101 penetrating sealer.
We live in upstate New York and salt in the winter is a given. I want to protect the floor, I don’t care about shine. But I am confused about how to get the old sealer off. My first thought was sand or grind, but the chemical removers sound less messy, kind of (no dust; our garage is under the house, and next to the basement). I looked at Blue Bear 600GL, but cleanup is tricky. No drain in the garage, and I can scrape most of it into a bucket. Then I would need to go over with a degreaser a few times. Disposing of the degreaser is even trickier. Otherwise, it means hosing it out onto the asphalt driveway. EasyStrip 1000 seems another possibility.
Your recommendation would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Most of the ECO friendly strippers work just as you stated, David. They are still messy since the floor needs to be scraped and rinsed with a high pressure nozzle. We prefer the FranMar products (Blue Bear) if you choose that route. Grinding is our preferred method since you get a consistent outcome and finish. If you grind with a vacuum setup you can really keep the dust down. It requires a dust shroud on your grinder and a Dust Deputy setup between the grinder and shop vac. Either way, removing topical sealers is never a simple project. You just have to pick your poison and go from there.
Thanks, Shea. I found your article on grinding after I posted that. It looks like the best route. I really appreciate your feedback. This site is AMAZING!
Sorry, just had 2 more questions:
1) In grinding the floor, do I need to use the Diamabrush coating removal tool and then the concrete prep tool, or just one or the other? The surface is still in good shape, but I want to get the old coating off.
2) Can epoxy eventually be used over the siliconate sealer? I plan to only use the siliconate, but if a future owner wanted to use epoxy on top, I’d like to know what to tell them.
Thanks again.
Just use the coating removal tool David. The process of removing the coating will prep the concrete as well. Yes, you can apply epoxy over the sealed concrete, but it will require grinding again to provide a mechanical bite for the epoxy to adhere well.
Thank you for your articles.
I have a 2 year old 22×22 garage floor (old one sunk into the ground after 5 years,don’t ask) we now have a expansion crack forming and we need to repair it and then seal the floor, we live in northeast and want to protect it. I think the penetrating siliconate sealer sounds great, but my wife says she wants it “refreshed, all one new color” as well. Questions are #1 do these sealers color the floor at all? #2 can we have the floor cleaned and painted with a masonry paint before sealing? And #3 could we paint over the siliconate sealer? We really don’t care about high gloss or colors so epoxy type sealers are not needed.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Hello Doug. Here are the answers to your question.
#1 Penetrating sealers do not color the concrete. They leave it looking pretty much as it did before the sealer was applied.
#2 Masonry paint is not a sealer and you cannot seal over masonry paint.
#3 Yes, you can “paint” over a siliconate sealer with masonry paint. It’s actually considered a primer for that. Keep in mind, however, that masonry paint will not hold up over a northeast winter. You will be repainting in spring time. The concrete will stay protected by the siliconate sealer though even if the paint is damaged.
If it’s in the budget, you may want to consider a single-part polyurea floor coating if you want a solid color garage floor. It is as easy to apply as paint and it seals the concrete as well. Two coats will stand up to northeast winters without issue and will last for years. You would not use a siliconate sealer prior to application and it does require that you properly prep the concrete by acid etching first.
Not available from Amazon.
Thanks for pointing that out James. We put in an inquiry to find out why. It’s a very popular product and may be that they shut down for the holiday at the end of the year. UPDATE: Yes, it was as thought. Concrete Sealers USA shuts down for the holiday. They will be back up and shipping after the holiday.
Question. We just bought a new house and I want to seal the garage floor myself. I want the easiest to apply (roller paint?) I want the sealer to make it easier to sweep the garage clean. I don’t really care how it looks. Basically, I want a clean garage. What is the best product to use? Thanks
Hello Kim. A penetrating sealer that the one discussed in this article is not going to make sweeping easier. Penetrating sealer do not change the surface of the concrete. If you want to do that, they you will need to use a topical, film forming sealer. In other words, some type of coating. The coating is what makes the sweeping real smooth. If all you do is park vehicles in your garage, then you may want to consider an acrylic sealer. An MMA acrylic sealer like this one here is fairly tough and easy to apply.
Hello, great articles on this, but I’m having some confusion still. I really like the durability of the penetrating sealers discussed in this article as my garage will be used as a working garage (floorjacks, jackstands, etc..) though I was also looking for something that will somewhat smooth the surface and give a more finished appearance that I wouldn’t need to worry about damaging. I fear hot tire pickup or chipping with epoxy or any other topical coating. Is there a penetrating sealer you can reccomend that will make sweeping/moping easier while still penetrating into the concrete so it won’t suffer chipping/hot tire pickup?
Hello Dan. Concrete sealers are either penetrating or film forming (coating). Anything that creates a smoother surface is going to be film forming. Unfortunately, the home improvement store DIY epoxy kits are responsible for the bad reputation that epoxy can get about hot tire pickup, peeling, and etc. A properly prepared concrete surface with a commercial quality coating system will perform for years without experiencing the common mishaps of those epoxy kits. That is why the commercial quality garage floor coating market is growing at a fast pace.
That said, we understand fully why some people don’t want to deal with a coating. However, if you want something that is going to smooth out the surface of concrete, then a coating is your only option. Penetrating sealers form a molecular barrier at the sub-surface. This is why they last so long and don’t have issues with peeling, scratching, and etc. They do not change the texture of the surface. Some can be fairly stain resistant (providing fluids aren’t allowed to sit for long periods), but they are not resistant like a coating is. If you have a smooth troweled surface to begin with, then one exception would be a stain guard. These are typically used on polished concrete. Multiple applications of a stain guard can leave an extremely thin film on the surface that can make sweeping and mopping easier. This article here is a good example. Note that this reader had a machine troweled surface to begin with. It will not work on a broom finish or most hand troweled finishes unless it turned out fairly smooth.
One other option that is new to the market would be a product called TS210. You can read about it here. This is actually an acrylic modified polyurethane sealer that leaves a very thin coating on the floor. It’s highly chemical, stain, and scratch resistant. Plus, you will not experience hot tire pickup and it’s easy to repair. Something like this would smooth out the surface enough to make mopping and sweeping a breeze.
Awesome! Thanks! I’m going to most likely go with the TS210. Seems to fit my needs pretty much perfectly! Thanks again!
Hi. Will this work as a radon sealer? Thanks.
Hi Paul. You actually ask a great question. Sealing your concrete will not stop or significantly reduce radon intrusion, despite the fact a few companies have made a great business selling products that they claim will stop it. In fact, some states have actually issued consumer notices that warn people of the use of sealers to prevent radon intrusion. This here is an example. The EPA actually speaks of the ineffectiveness of concrete sealers in a consumer guide about radon as well. You can read it here. Page 11 has the information about sealing. While sealing the concrete and all cracks will assist in the process, the only way to stop radon intrusion is with a proper radon ventilating system.