Hi All,
the title may sound a little odd, but I have a need for a one-time use sprayer to apply a solvent-based concrete sealer to my concrete paver-stone driveway. The company that recently did some repair work on it said they use the standard garden-type pump sprayer, and usually get a few uses out of them, so I'm considering doing the same thing. I plan on only applying one coat and should be able to do the whole thing in a few hours. The manufacturer recommends a sprayer followed up with a foam roller to apply the sealant, but chemical-resistant ones cost a fortune.

The sealant I'm going to be working with is this:

Concrete Paver Acrylic Sealant Gloss Finish| Techniseal

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

John

 

A pump up garden sprayer should work fine. You'd need to use a solvent to clean the pump when you are done. Normally that would be mineral spirits but I see on the tech sheet where they say to use lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner would be hard on any plastic parts or seals which is probably why you were told the sprayer only works for a few applications.

Back rolling is important! as it will work the coating into the substrate instead of just laying on top [means it will last longer] it can also even up any unevenly applied sealer. I've never liked using foam rollers and would use a lambswool cover. I suspect a cheap foam roller would dissolve in the sealer

 

Hi Mark, thanks for the reply.
I agree about the solvent, and since they recommend lacquer thinner to clean with, I was thinking that meant that the sealant was based on something similar and so it might melt the seals on the sprayer. I'm ok with it literally falling apart after I'm done, I just dont want to get started and have it become useless right in the middle of the job. Your thoughts?

John

 

I've used cheap garden sprayers for years to apply concrete sealers. And I've cleaned them for years using nothing but pure lacquer thinner, all without problems. I think the trick is to not let the lacquer thinner stay in contact with plastic or rubber parts for any length of time. I always blow-dry the entire assemblies with compressed air when finished, to make sure no residual lacquer thinner is lurking in the guts of the sprayers.

 

Do you have to modify the Nozzle to accommodate the more viscous sealant ?

Clogged nozzles has been my only complaint with garden sprayers (and one time I let water in the nozzle freeze).

 

There is a limit as to how thick a coating can be sprayed thru a pump up garden sprayer. Since I own 2 airless pumps I've never used a garden sprayer to apply any paint/stain. I have run a little mineral spirits thru the garden sprayer if it's going to set for a long time [to dispel any water] I've never put any lacquer thinner in one.

If the nozzle clogs you basically need to clean it with some thinner. The faster drying stains/sealers will dry in the tip quicker than others. I've run into the same thing with conventional spray guns - the air that passes thru the tip also tries to dry the coating that is coming out of it.

 

Thanks to everyone for their comments, this has been very helpful. I'll report back with my experience with this once I'm done.

Cheers