CoverSeal PEN55 Oil and Stain Resistant Penetrating Concrete Floor Sealer

CoverSeal PEN 55 is a specially formulated penetrating sealer for concrete and concrete pavers.

It is designed to penetrate the surface and resist not only water, but also oil and food-based stains.

Pen55 is highly WATER , SALT and OIL STAIN Resistant. We use fluoropolymer technology to get into the micro-pores of the concrete – into the capillaries – and seal or block any solutions, fluids or stains that tries to get into the surface.

It’s designed not to change the appearance of the concrete. Pen55 concrete floor sealer is BREATHABLE. It’s a penetrating sealer, so it doesn’t leave a film on the surface Breathable. It is extremely repellent of water, oil and stains.

CoverSeal PEN 55 is used predominantly for sealing concrete and concrete pavers.

It can be used for both interior and exterior applications.

That is, anywhere you want to protect the concrete or paver surface from:

• Oil stains
• Food-based stains
• Water and Salt

In residential applications, it can be useful on your:

• Driveway
• Patio
• Pool deck
• Barbecue area

In commercial applications – typically on new construction – it’s useful on:

• Parking decks
• Drive-through areas
• Pavers leading into buildings and public areas

The major benefit of using CoverSeal PEN 55 concrete floor sealer in areas like these is to protect against oil and stains BEFORE the surface gets dirty.

Also because the product is highly water-resistant it protects the surface from deicing salts and freeze-thaw attack

And again, if you’re looking to keep the natural look of your concrete or pavers, PEN 55 doesn’t change the appearance of the surface.

It’s a very good idea to seal pavers and concrete surfaces.

You need to protect the surface from being damaged or stained and make it easier for you to keep it clean or maintain it.

A typical example with new concrete is that if it’s driven over, very quickly you could get oil stains from leaking vehicles.

If you don’t protect your surface from moisture, it can get into the concrete (in warmer climates) and you’ll experience mold and mildew issues.

In colder climates, water will get into the surface, freeze, expand and crack, thus damaging the surface. This leads to costly repairs and the need for replacements much earlier than you expected.

Additionally, events like these will increase your maintenance costs because you’re forced to spend more time and money repeatedly cleaning off mold and mildew.

With regard to keeping the look and appearance of your surface, it’s highly recommended that you seal it as soon as possible. This prevents solutions and stains from getting into the surface early.

A professional grade sealer will protect your pavers. It will simplify cleaning the surface and make it a low-cost ongoing effort. And finally, it will retain the beauty or appearance of your surface.

Let’s discuss the 3 clear benefits of sealing your pavers or concrete early.

– Protecting the pavers.
A quality sealer will reduce or minimize any damage from contaminants that could possibly get into the paver or the concrete. You’re also protecting against:

• Stains
• Water getting into the surface

As stated above, moisture and water getting into a paver or concrete surface provides an environment for things like mold and mildew to grow, or water freezing, expanding and cracking the surface.

– Making the surface easier to clean.
A professional grade sealer will keep out or “hold off” contaminants from penetrating the surface. By sealing the paver, it makes it much easier to clean contaminants sitting on the surface. You can simply brush them off, pressure wash or hose them off the top.

– Maintaining the appearance or adding beautification to your surface.
The first 2 benefits of protecting the pavers and making them easier to clean facilitate the maintenance of the surface’s appearance over the long term. Basically, if your pavers don’t get soiled or stained, you’ll have a much better-looking surface much longer.

CoverSeal PEN 55 is a pro-grade sealer that helps you:

• Keep the mold out
• Keep the ant-hills off
• Keep the dirt, grease, oil and food by stains off your surface

Sealing pavers will prevent weeds from growing up through the surface if you use the right product and apply the right technique.

There are a couple of ways to tackle it.
The first thing we recommend is to use a Penetrating sealer.

An example is our CoverSeal PEN 55.
Its main function is to soak into the paver itself and protect the surface.

If you have sand between the pavers, it’s best to use Polymeric sand.
It has a polymer in it, which will prevent the weed growth through the sand when it’s applied properly.
The PEN 55 will prevent anything growing up through the paver itself.

If you’re using regular sand, we recommend using what we call a Topical sealer.

An example would be our Strongseal Wetlook. It has a polymer solution that will soak into the paver and the sand, lock together, preventing weed and ant hills from thriving.

There are a couple of solutions for sealing concrete pavers, and the right answer for your situation depends on what your goal for the paver surface is.

• Water or moisture ingress
• Staining from oil or food-based contaminants

If the answer is water, then you can use a penetrating sealer like our CoverSeal PEN 50. It’s very moisture resistant. You can use a topical sealer like our Strongseal Wetlook.

If the answer is oil and food-based contaminants, you should use a product that’s oil-resistant AND water resistant. Our CoverSeal PEN 55 is a good choice in this situation.

• Do you want to enhance your concrete or your pavers?
• Do you want to bring out some sheen?

If you don’t want to change the appearance and keep the natural look, then the penetrating sealer CoverSeal PEN 55 is perfect for you.

If you’re interested in adding some sheen, then choose the topical sealer Strongseal Wetlook.

Both products are oil and stain resistant

Consumers and contractors must first consider whether they want to change the appearance of the surface or not.

If they don’t want to change the appearance, a penetrating sealer is best.
If they want to enhance the surface by bringing some gloss or sheen, then a topical sealer is ideal.

The next thing is to focus on is the type of sealer preferred.

If using a penetrating sealer, look for something that contains a fluorochemical – particularly if you want oil and stain resistance. The product must have a fluoropolymer or fluorochemical to resist hydrocarbons, petroleum-based fat, oil and grease.

When looking at penetrating sealers, we recommend using a water-based product as opposed to solvent-based one. Water-based sealers like our PEN 55 are not moisture sensitive – or much less moisture sensitive than a solvent based sealer would be. There are no odors. There are no flammability issues.

When it comes to topical sealers, look for a water-based product as opposed to a solvent-based one. They are easier to use, less moisture-sensitive, and less hazardous.

Look for a polyurethane-based or water-based sealer like our Strongseal Wetlook.
Polyurethanes are much tougher. They’re much more durable, stain and chemical resistant than acrylic-based products are.

The lifetime of your paver sealer depends on the quality of the paver sealer you use, and its chemical makeup.

For example, a 2-part urethane, water-based sealer like our Strongseal Wetlook will last 2 to 3 years in a very aggressive or extreme weather environment like Florida.

In an ordinary area, where we have a lot of freeze thaw, these tougher chemicals will hold up longer than a 1-part solvent or water-based acrylic.

When it comes to penetrating sealers, it also depends on the quality of the sealer itself. If your product has a higher degree of active solids, it will hold out more contaminants and last longer than one that doesn’t have as much.

CoverSeal PEN 55 will typically last 2 to 3 years. It has a higher active solids content compared to most sealers available on the market today.

You need a sealer that’s both water-resistant and oil and chemical resistant.
These types of sealers will protect against water getting into the concrete or the paver, as well as staining, oil stains, food-based stains and chemical attack.

Next, you want to think about whether you want to change the appearance of the paver. If you don’t want to change an appearance, then you should choose a penetrating sealer.

If you want to change the appearance, such as adding gloss or a sheen, then you need to go for a film-forming sealer product.

The best film-forming sealers are water-based polyurethanes. They’re not moisture sensitive. They hold up much longer against weather elements, whether it’s freeze-thaw or extreme temperatures. They won’t “milk” or go white.

If there’s moisture in the ground or in the concrete, as far as penetrating sealers, the advantage there is that they don’t lift or peel. They penetrate the surface and protect the paver against chemicals and solutions.

Look for something like our CoverSeal PEN 55, which is a water-based fluorochemical that is highly oil and stain resistant as well.

As a best practice, you should let the paver or concrete surface dry about 4 to 5 hours before applying any sealer to get the maximum benefit.

With that said, one of the advantages of using a water-based sealer is that the paver doesn’t have to be totally dry to apply it.

Generally, the drier the surface, the deeper the sealer can soak into the paver or concrete.
That is, deeply into the capillaries or pores of the substrate.

In terms of time, we recommend you let the surface dry typically four or five hours.

We do have moisture insensitive products like the StrongSeal Wetlook that can be used after you pressure wash the area, so long as the pavers are not puddled or the water’s not sitting on the surface.

However, our advice is to let the surface dry out as much as possible. This way, you can get better absorption of the sealer.

A good first step is to use a cleaning chemical that will get the dirt, oil or grease-type contaminants off the surface. A product like our CoverClean CT-50 Concentrate is a good choice.

It’s very powerful cleaner. It’s a concentrate you dilute with warm water, then scrub it into the surface. Afterward, simply pressure wash or rinse it off.

If you have contaminants like cement or efflorescent on the surface, you need to use something that has an acidic characteristic to it.

Something like our PreTreat will lightly etch the surface, and remove those cement based stains and other substances.

Again, for cleaning oil, grease, mold and mildew our CoverClean CT-50 Concentrate is more suitable.

If you’ve got cement-based stains and similar things like that, we recommend our PreTreat Mild Acidic Cleaner.

Some film-forming sealers, like an acrylic or a solvent-based acrylic, can be slippery.

They will leave a film on the surface that is slick. This means that if there’s water around, you can slip on the surface.

If you want to avoid that, use a penetrating sealer. Our PEN 55 or PEN 50 products will soak into the paver without changing the characteristics of the surface (like leaving a potentially slippery film on the surface).

The other option is to use something like our StrongSeal Wetlook. Again, it’s a concentrate that soaks into the surface pores, and leaves a very thin film.

To further increase the slip-resistance of the product, you can add our CoverGrip Anti Slip Additive to it for increasing the surface traction.

You should always seal pavers after you’ve applied your polymeric sand and have given it time to react and lock together (because it’s activated using water).

Normally that takes 3 to 4 hours. However, we usually recommend you wait until the next day.

Then, you can seal the surface using a penetrating sealer like a PEN 55 or PEN 50, or you can use the StrongSeal Wetlook.

Again, you’d apply that after you’ve installed the polymeric sand and swept off any excess.