Affiliate Disclosure: This Old House‘s Reviews Team is committed to delivering honest, objective, and independent reviews on home products and services. To support this business model, This Old House may be compensated if you purchase through links on our website.
Concrete driveways, sidewalks, and pathways are susceptible to damage from the elements. With one or more layers of a sealant, you can protect this concrete from scuffs, cracks, water marks, and other threats. To help you sort through your options, the This Old House Reviews Team researched the best concrete sealers on Amazon. Here are our top five recommendations.
Best Two-Part Sealer: TotalBoat Concrete Coating
This epoxy resin provides a high-gloss, heat-resistant finish. Though it has a complicated two-part application process with separate resin and hardener, it’s versatile because it works on concrete, wood, stone, ceramic, metal, and other surfaces.
Key Features
- Has an epoxy-based formula
- Comes in a one-gallon quantity
- Has a two-part application process
- Covers up to 12.8 square feet
What Customers Are Saying
Customers were surprised at how thick this concrete sealer was, as this helped it better protect their surfaces. Unfortunately, bubbling was an issue for many customers, and they found the application instructions to be confusing.
Best Drum: Foundation Armor Concrete Sealer
To protect your concrete surfaces from freezing, thawing, scratching, scuffing, and other damage, this acrylic concrete sealer is a viable solution. It covers indoor or outdoor surfaces with a low-gloss finish. Though it requires multiple coats, it comes in a large five-gallon drum.
Key Features
- Has an acrylic-based formula
- Comes in a five-gallon quantity
- Comes pre-mixed
- Covers up to 175 square feet per coat per gallon
What Customers Are Saying
Although the five-gallon drum was challenging for some customers to open, many found it easy to apply the sealer using the recommended instructions. When it was applied correctly, water and other liquids beaded on the concrete rather than soaking into it. However, this protection only lasted a handful of months for some users.
Easiest to pour: Ghostshield Siloxa-Tek Concrete Sealer
For an environmentally friendly concrete sealer that contains a limited amount of volatile organic compounds, we recommend this penetrating sealer. Its water-based formula quickly breaks through the outermost layers of your concrete surfaces, creating a lasting shield to protect against chemicals, cracks, and more. It doesn’t change the appearance of your concrete either, so it’s worth using if you like the current look of your driveway or sidewalk.
Key Features
- Has a water-based formula
- Comes in a one-gallon quantity
- Comes pre-mixed
- Covers up to 250 square feet per coat per gallon
What Customers Are Saying
Customers found this penetrating concrete sealer to be easy to apply. They also said that it provided superior resistance to stains and other blemishes. Negatively, some homeowners experienced water leaks through cinder blocks and other gaps in their concrete features. Others stated that the provided instructions were unclear and incomplete.
Best Container Sizes: Black Diamond Stoneworks Stone Sealer
Those who like the wet look of freshly settled concrete will enjoy the high-gloss finish that this sealer offers. It works on exposed aggregate, stamped concrete, colored concrete, and other surfaces. We like that it’s available in a range of bottle sizes, including one quart and one gallon, to give you the perfect amount for your sealing project.
Key Features
- Has an acrylic-based formula
- Comes in a one-quart quantity
- Comes pre-mixed
- Covers up to 600 square feet
What Customers Are Saying
Many customers were pleased with the value of this concrete sealer, stating that one bottle covered large surfaces in their entirety. Users were also pleased with its glossy shine and fast drying time. Alternatively, other customers were dissatisfied, reporting that their concrete and stone surfaces only looked glossy for a few days. Others shared that the finish turned hazy after six months and stopped repelling oils and other liquids.
Best For Basements: RadonSeal Concrete Sealer
Radon gas is often a concern with basements because it seeps through the floors as the soil underneath decays. If you’re already going to the trouble of sealing your concrete basement floor, consider this penetrating sealer. Its formula contains a radon mitigation agent to protect against radon vapor and gas. It’s also non-toxic and non-flammable, making it stand out among the competition.
Key Features
- Has a water-based formula
- Comes in a five-gallon quantity
- Comes pre-mixed
- Covers up to 250 square feet per coat per gallon
What Customers Are Saying
Customers praised this concrete sealer for its versatility, citing that the radon-mitigating and sealing qualities were ideal for renovating basements. Many were also pleased with the penetrating formula. Conversely, others said that hiring a radon mitigation professional would be a more effective solution than using a concrete sealer.
Buyer’s Guide
To keep the concrete features around your home in good condition for years to come, it’s important to seal them. This necessitates using the right concrete sealer for the job. If you’re not sure which one to use, we’re here to simplify your search. Reference our buying guide below to read about the main factors that go into choosing the best concrete sealer.
Type
Concrete sealers come in three primary types.
Acrylic
Acrylic provides solid protection at a fairly inexpensive cost. You can blend acrylic-based concrete sealers with epoxy, silicone, or polyurethane for increased durability. Try to look for virgin or pure acrylic rather than styrene acrylic. The latter is known to develop a yellow color under direct sunlight.
Epoxy
Also known as polyurethane sealers, epoxy sealants cost more than acrylic ones. However, rather than providing a soft finish that lasts one to three years, a quality epoxy sealer can protect your concrete for five to 10 years. Though durable, they do limit how much your concrete surfaces can breathe because they’re considerably thick.
Penetrating
Specialty resins, such as silicones, siloxanes, and silanes, mix to create a sealer that penetrates deep beneath the surface of the concrete. This chemical barrier prevents water, oil, and other contaminants from damaging the concrete. We recommend penetrating sealers where stains are common, such as on driveways and garage floors.
Amount
Consider how much area you need to cover and how many coats a certain sealer requires. The area a concrete sealer covers is typically measured in square feet. You can usually purchase concrete sealers in containers that are as small as a quart to as large as five gallons.
Packaging
Many sealers come in a bottle with a cap. On the other hand, heavy-duty, commercial-grade concrete sealers may come in a large bucket or barrel. Generally, smaller containers are easier to open and pour. You want to avoid accidentally spilling too much sealer in an area where it’s not needed.
Drying Time
Depending on the weather conditions, the average drying time for concrete sealer is about two hours. Cloudy weather or high humidity could extend the drying time to three or four hours.
Indoor Application
Water-based sealers are the way to go for indoor concrete surfaces. They don’t contain as many flammable, potent chemicals. However, you can still apply solvent-based sealers indoors if there’s proper ventilation.
Life Expectancy
The longevity of your concrete sealer is largely determined by how well it’s applied and maintained. Thick, premium sealers, such as epoxies and urethanes, generally outlast acrylic sealers by at least a few years.
How To Maintain Your Concrete Surfaces
Applying a high-quality concrete sealer is important, but it’s only one of the necessary steps to take when you’re caring for your driveway, patio, walkway, garage floor, and other concrete surfaces. Here are some other tips for cleaning and maintaining the concrete around your home:
- Use a pressure washer: Pressure washing gives you the satisfaction of seeing built-up grime wash away instantly. If you don’t have a pressure washer, you can always rent one from a home improvement store or borrow one from a neighbor.
- Clean spills: Immediately address any food, oil, or other spills on your concrete surfaces. A good concrete sealer can only do so much, and the longer the spill sits on your concrete, the more likely it is to stain or seep in.
- Check for cracks: Regularly inspect your concrete for any cracking or deterioration.
- Sweep debris: Though sweeping may not seem like a big deal, it’s a part of keeping your concrete looking as good as possible. When you’re doing yard work, make sure to sweep away any excess debris.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I seal my concrete?
Without sealant, this material is vulnerable to damage from water, salt, oil, sunlight, and more. While you don’t need to seal your concrete surfaces, they last longer when you do.
Is concrete sealer toxic?
Yes and no. Many modern concrete sealers are considered non-toxic with no volatile organic compounds or a minimal amount. However, all concrete sealers should be handled with care because they still contain other chemicals that could irritate your eyes, nose, skin, and throat.
How often should I reseal my concrete?
A thorough application of a soft, acrylic-based concrete sealer should last anywhere from one to three years. Epoxy-based concrete sealers tend to last much longer, usually between five and 10 years. However, how much wear and tear your concrete areas are subjected to also plays a role in how frequently they need to be resealed.
How do I know if I need to reseal my concrete?
Besides the passage of time itself, there are two telltale signs that it’s time to reseal your concrete:
- The surface of the sealer looks scratched, dull, dirty, or worn.
- Water no longer beads on the surface of the concrete.
Why Trust The This Old House Reviews Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Reviews Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.