Aliphatic Polyurethanes concrete sealers perform better than an epoxy or acrylic sealers. They offer excellent abrasion and chemical resistance when compared to epoxy or acrylic sealers.
Aliphatic polyurethane sealers provide abrasion and chemical resistance surface to a decorative concrete or resinous flooring systems. They are available in matte, satin and gloss finishes. You can use polyurethane concrete sealers on either an interior or exterior concrete in order to create a transparent and non-yellowing durable finish. They are typically used as top coats over over an epoxy or acrylic sealers. Polyurethane (or Urethane) provides a superior resistance to abrasion and chemicals. Another interesting fact is that polyurethane concrete sealers are available in water and solvent based grades in a wide range of sheen levels.
Polyurethanes, for the most part, are moisture intolerant until they cure. This means that they should not be applied to places where water is present. If this does happen, a chemical reaction will occur. This chemical reaction will result in foaming and bubbling. Another thing to keep in mind about polyurethanes is that they do not allow for moisture vapor to move out of the concrete, which can pose problems on certain exterior concrete surfaces. A driveway is one good example.
Aliphatic polyurethane sealers are non-yellowing. They do not like the alkalinity of concrete. Therefore, an acrylic sealer or epoxy sealer is applied before applying a polyurethane topcoat. Typically they are applied with a 3/8″ nap roller. Polyurethane topcoats are available in water based, solvent based and moisture cured versions. Water based polyurethane topcoats are suitable for in light to medium traffic surfaces. Solvent based polyurethane provide excellent hot-tire pick up resistance. Therefore, they are suitable in automotive workshops or garage floors. Moisture cured polyurethane with high solids are suitable in high traffic areas.
The application of acrylic, epoxy and polyurethane sealers is shown in this video
Please feel free to contact Duraamen to determine which polyurethane topcoat is suitable for your project.
