How to rejuvenate stenciled concrete verandah?

[Jills]

Hello, 

Just wondering if anyone can give advice on how to rejuvenate our verandah concrete. It’s covered but 25years of use has started to show (there are white splotches and water mark etc) also the colour has dulled. I like what it looks when it’s wet (dark patches on the photo are wet patches from pressure spraying it today)  so I’m looking into the gloss wet look sealant. But how to deal with the discouloured splotches and dull colour? We have pressured sprayed and used cleaner to no avail esp on the large white discolouration as pictured.  

 

I saw that there is Crommelin tintable sealant, was considering a charcoal colour as it was the original colour of the stenciled section, would this work? but if we want to keep the white border, would it be ok? Or would it make everything the same charcoal colour? What do people usually do with their old stenciled concrete?  

Please help 🙏🏽 

 

[JacobZ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Jills,

Thank you for your question about rejuvenating your stencilled concrete.

It looks fairly decent for 25 years to be fair, but I'm sure we can give it a bit of a facelift to really bring back the shine. 

Simply recoating with a tinted sealer would have a recolouring effect on the white areas, which wouldn't be ideal. Unfortunately, because of the stencilling and differing colours, it would be quite an undertaking to either retint or repaint the charcoal-coloured sections, so I think we should try a few things before we resort to that. 

You've already given it a pressure clean, and I'm assuming you've used a concrete cleaner such as this Chemtech Concrete And Driveway Cleaner. If not, I would give a concrete, specific cleaner a try as a first step. Alongside the concrete cleaner, giving the stains a good scrub with a stiff-bristled brush, such as this Oates Marine Bassine Handle Scrub Brush can often get to the particles that sit deeper in the pores of the concrete.

If you have no success with this, I've spoken with the technical team at Cromellin, whose advice was to try the Crommelin DiamondCoat Clean N Prep, which is a strong solvent-based water-soluble cleaning agent. Start with a small test area in an inconspicuous location to ensure there are no adverse effects on your concrete. Make sure you follow the instructions closely to ensure the best results.

I suspect that this cleaner will work well to remove the hazy patches and stains, but if they remain after this, an efflorescence cleaner like this Crommelin Efflorescence Remover would be the next step. 

Hopefully, after these steps, the stains and haziness are cleared up, at which point you could apply a wet look sealer like this Crommelin Gloss DiamondCoat Paving And Concrete Sealer to achieve the desired wet look.

The technical team at Cromellin are fantastic to deal with, and they are available to assist 7 days a week. Please feel free to reach out to them on 1800 665 771 for any advice along the way.

We are also always available to help if you have any further questions. Give these steps a try and let me know how you go. If you aren't sure about anything, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Jacob

[Jills]

Thank you so much for this esp the links for the suggested products.  I will try the Clean and Prep solution with the stiff brush and hope for the best. As for the sealant recommendation, would the Crommelin be the best Gloss / Wet look sealant you can suggest? Worried about the low reviews but I do trust your recommendation more. 

[JacobZ]

No worries @Jills, happy to help.

I can't say I've used it myself, but looking at the reviews, the majority are 4 or 5 stars. Assuming you follow the instructions closely and do the necessary prep work, you shouldn't have any issues.

You can always do a test patch in an inconspicuous area to see what you think before committing to the whole area. If you're not happy, an alternative that would be suitable is this Crommelin Gloss Wet Look Concrete And Paving Sealer.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[Jills]

Thanks heaps Jacob. I appreciate your replies. Sorry but I need more help. 
Update atm, I have purchased the Crommelin Clean n Prep as suggested, and doing a test patch on a small hazy part. Have scrubbed a section, applied neat as per instructions but was too scared to leave it long as I saw black coming out as I scrub. Is that a good thing? Have rinsed a few times and broomed the water away to help it dry quicker overnight. Waiting to see what happens when it’s dry.
Now my next question is, what should I expect to see? Should I expect that the hazy bit disappear and be the same colour as the surrounding area?
The clean and prep can also be used as sealant lifter/remover (as per label) so if my concrete still has residual sealant, what do I expect to see after cleaning it? A duller colour grey? Should it change shade/make shade slightly lighter? Coz I know there’s a section under a table that is still well sealed (water heads off easily and it’s a darker more shiny shade) what do I expect to see after I’ve applied, scrubbed and rinsed? Can I ruin my stenciled concrete by applying a cleaner? I’ve only ever used detergent (on slightly greasy areas)  and water /pressure sprayer. I’m scared of any consequences using anything stronger. I know the product says patch test but it’s hard to know if it’s a good cleaning product if I don’t know what to expect to begin with, 😂  I’m fearing it’s gonna bleach my concrete to lighter colour and I’m scared. 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Jills,

If you have only used detergent previously, it might be worth using a concrete-specific cleaner such as the Chemtech Concrete And Driveway Cleaner and giving it a good scrub before using the stronger Clean N Prep product.

It's hard to say without seeing the reaction myself, but if used neat, it certainly has the potential to soften and remove some of the paint. But then again, the black you were seeing could have just been dirt, grease or grime that was deeper in the pores of the concrete.

I would give it another test, diluting it with 1 part cleaner to 2 parts water and see how you go. You can always repeat the process if the first clean doesn't work as well as you'd hoped.

I would expect the colour to be slightly duller after cleaning, but this will be fixed in post when we apply the sealer. The sealer will restore the vibrancy of the colour.

If you have any concerns, you can always contact the Cromellins' technical team while you are working on it, and they will talk you through. 

Let me know what you think and if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

[Jills]

A very laborious exercise but it all came out great. Stiff brush and concrete cleaner with the pressure sprayer. 
Sealed with Crommelin DiamondCoat Gloss sealer. Glossy enough that we can’t take photos without the glare 😆 
Not perfect but not bad for a 25yr old concrete! 

Thanks for all the help here. I appreciate it

[EricL]

Hello @Jills 

Thank you very much for the photo update, your stencilled concrete verandah looks fantastic! That sealer should protect that surface for quite some time and make cleaning a lot easier. 

Eric