The best concrete sealer for a concrete driveway depends entirely on the condition of your concrete driveway, what you want your concrete driveway to look like once sealed, and what you need the concrete sealer to offer in terms of performance.
Before determining the best concrete sealer for your driveway, you need to verify which sealers are compatible. If your concrete driveway us currently unsealed, you are free to choose the sealer of your choice. If your concrete driveway is currently sealed, you need to make sure that the sealer you reseal with is compatible with the sealer you currently have down. If your concrete driveway was previously sealed with a silicate sealer, silane sealer, siloxane sealer, or silane-siloxane sealer, then typically you can recoat with a silane sealer, siloxane sealer, silane siloxane sealer, or acrylic sealer. If your concrete driveway was previously sealed with a water based acrylic sealer, you can recoat with a water based acrylic sealer. If your concrete driveway was previously sealed with a solvent based acrylic sealer, you can recoat with a solvent based acrylic sealer.
Let’s start with what you want your concrete driveway to look like once sealed. If your concrete driveway us currently unsealed and you like the natural look of the concrete, you want to use a penetrating concrete sealer. Penetrating concrete sealers are designed to penetrate into the concrete and work below the surface. They won’t change the color of the concrete driveway, and they won’t leave behind a surface film. If you want a wet look, you have a few different concrete sealer options depending on what you consider to be a wet look.
Best Penetrating Concrete Sealers:
If you want the concrete driveway to look wet, but don’t want any gloss or surface film, you want a matte wet look sealer. There are very few matte wet look sealers currently on the market, but a top rated option is the WL550.
If you want the concrete driveway to look wet and you want a low to high gloss finish, you want a solvent based acrylic sealer. Solvent based acrylic sealers will darken the concrete to make it look wet and leave behind a low to high gloss finish. If you want the low to high gloss without changing the color of the concrete driveway, then you want a water based acrylic. Now, there are hundreds of concrete sealers on the market, each with different formulations. While these are general observations of categories of sealers, it is always best to check with the sealer manufacturer that you are considering to see what their specifications are.
Best Solvent Based Acrylic Concrete Sealers
Best Water-Based Acrylic Concrete Sealers
Next, you want to think about what you want the concrete sealer to offer in terms of performance. Different sealers offer different benefits which is why it is important to understand how specific types of sealers are designed to function.
Silicate Sealers – Sodium and lithium silicate sealers chemically react to form a hardened CSH structure within the pores. They are designed to increase the strength and density of the concrete. If your concrete is weak, or showing signs of deterioration caused by surface abrasion, a concrete densifier is a great choice. Concrete densifiers do not offer any protection against water however, so if you use a densifier and also want protection against water, you will have to apply a silane-siloxane sealer.
Silane-Siloxane Sealers – Silane siloxane sealers chemically react to form a hydrophobic barrier within the pores. They are designed to reduce the absorption of water and other liquids on the surface. They will reduce damage and deterioration caused by water absorption, snow and ice, and de-icing salts. They are perhaps the most popular type of penetrating concrete sealers because they work below the surface and won’t change the look or color.
Acrylic Sealers – Acrylic sealers provide complete and total protection on the surface because they leave behind a visible, protective surface film. If you are looking for a wet look, low gloss, or high gloss finish, and want the most protection a concrete sealer can offer, acrylic sealers are great options.
