The truth about Nano Technology and concrete sealers.

According to Nano.gov, nanotechnology is the application of extremely small things and can be used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, and engineering.

“Everything on Earth is made up of atoms—the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the buildings and houses we live in, and our own bodies.

But something as small as an atom is impossible to see with the naked eye. In fact, it’s impossible to see with the microscopes typically used in a high school science classes. The microscopes needed to see things at the nanoscale were invented relatively recently—about 30 years ago.

Once scientists had the right tools, such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM), the age of nanotechnology was born.”

Want to see concrete sealer nano technology in action? Just look under a microscope at the hardened, or reacted, result of ANY concrete sealer.

What does this mean? Don’t be fooled by Nano Technology claims and marketing materials. Nano Technology is not proprietary, and it isn’t an ingredient. Nano technology is a word that describes the size of the molecules. Nano = tiny. Most penetrating sealers use nano technology, therefore, don’t pay more thinking you will get more!

When looking for a penetrating concrete sealer, here are a few important buying factors to consider:

1. Sodium and lithium silicates are available in diluted and concentrated forms. Diluted formulas range anywhere from $16-$30/gallon and concentrated silicates range anywhere from $64-100/gallon. The $65 silicate will perform just as well as the $100 silicate because it is the silicate that causes the chemical reaction. A benefit to going with a concentrated solution is that you get more for your money. One gallon of sodium silicate is diluted with up to 3 gallons of water, and 1 gallon of lithium silicate is diluted with up to 4 gallons of water.
2. Silane-Siloxane sealers are better purchased as is. What makes one manufacturer different from the next is the % solids (40% is best) and the resins that go into the formula. A great silane siloxane will run about $55/gallon, sometimes less. Low solids solutions, which don’t perform as well as a high solids solution (low solids range from 2-10% solids) cost much less but you will have to put more on sooner AND you won’t get as much protection above or below the surface. Your best option? A 40% solids silane siloxane sealer.