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Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @michael1977. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about sealing a retaining wall.
If your retaining wall blocks are oxide-tinted coloured concrete, then you should be able to use a standard wet-look concrete sealer to get that glossy, darker finish. However, it’s worth noting that retaining walls are typically porous and designed to let moisture escape through the front face. If you seal the surface with a wet-look coating, any moisture that builds up behind the wall can push against the sealed surface, potentially causing the coating to peel or flake over time. Wet-look sealers usually aren’t made to handle that kind of pressure, so while you may achieve the look you want initially, the finish may not last and could be difficult to remove once it starts to fail.
It’s the same issue that comes up when someone wants to paint a retaining wall. For any coating—whether paint or a wet-look sealer—to last, the wall really needs to be waterproofed on the rear side before backfilling. Without that membrane to stop moisture from seeping through, water will eventually work its way through the wall and cause the surface coating to fail. So, unless the wall has been properly sealed from behind, any surface finish like paint or sealer is likely to be short-lived.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
