Travertine Paver Sealing
Travertine Paver Sealing
Travertine Paver Sealing Travertine paver sealing is very important in Florida. Our harsh sun light and pounding rain can beat the life out of your travertine pavers and the sealers used on them. Left un-sealed travertine can be damaged by salt spalling, effloresce, organic staining, and more. The challenge is finding a sealer that will effectively protect your investment for more than a year in Florida’s harsh outdoor environment. Water based sealers are the cheapest and easiest to use but most water based sealers in exposed areas won’t last even a year. The UV sun light and pounding rain just beat’s it loose or grinds it to dust.Solvent sealers are designed for outdoor use and are much stronger and longer lasting then water based sealers. There are two main types: Topical and Penetrating.
Topical Travertine Sealers
Topical sealers coat the stone with a protective layer of acrylic suspended in a xylene carrier. The acrylic soaks slightly into the stone and gains adhesion and then builds a shiny self-leveling surface coating over the stone. Solvent coatings should never be used indoors due to the harsh fumes and difficulty with future service to the floor. The acrylic coating darkens the stone and provides a protective water repellent coating. This is the cheapest way to protect your travertine pavers. The problem with topical coatings becomes evident when they start to break down. They need to be removed with aggressive solvent coating removers before having the topical coating reapplied. Topical coatings look great when they first go down but quickly deteriorate in exposed areas or areas that get run off. Solvent topical coatings go down cheap but come up expensive. Penetrating sealers work from inside the stone and provide water repellency and can provide color enhancement if desired.
Penetrating Travertine Sealers
Penetrating sealers soak into the stone and work from inside the stone to protect the stone from water intrusion and oily stains. They do this by increasing the surface tension of the stone so water won’t penetrate and oils don’t stick. Water based penetrating sealers with a UV protector will last for between one and three years outside. Drytreat StainProof sealer is a solvent based penetrating sealer that permanently bonds to the stones molecular structure. Unlike a normal penetrating sealer that just locks itself into the pores of the stone the StainProof sealer soaks into the stone and breaks a water molecule free from the stones molecular structure and bonds itself into the stones molecular structure. The sealer becomes part of the stone and is stuck to the stone as strong as the stone is to itself. This sealer lasts for life and comes with a 15 year warranty when applied by a certified applicator like Floor Cleaning Experts.
Travertine Color Enhancement
If a darker color or less chalky look is desired from the stone without polishing a color enhancer can be applied. The color enhancer soaks into the stone and darkens and deepens the colors in the stone and removes the chalky look from the face of the paver. The color enhancer allows light to more easily penetrate into the stone and reflect back the full spectrum of color in the stone paver. Some stonescome to life with a color enhancer and others do not change a bit other than to not look chalky. It depends on the type and finish of the stone.
DIY Travertine Maintenance
To keep your travertine desk looking great after it has been seal it needs some basic regular maintenance. Since the travertine is well sealed and protected it will just need the surface and the sand maintained. To keep organic material from growing in the sand or the pores of the stone a light spray ofa 10% bleach and water solution every month (Every week July-August). The surface of the travertine deckshould be pressure washed two- three times per year. Once a year the travertine deck should be re-sanded. To re-sand the travertine desk empty a bag of leveling sand on the deck and push over the deck to fill in the cracks. When all the cracks look full use a hose with a soaker attachment to soak the sand into the cracks. Each time you wash the sand out of the cracks it washes down under the paver filling a void and stabilizing the pavers. Regular re-sanding will keep your pavers level.
