If you've sealed your pavers in the past and are starting to see some reduction in performance, then you might be hoping to reseal. Before deciding to reseal, make sure you thoroughly pressure clean your surface. (We recommend using pressure washing at 3200 PSI or more.) The build-up of pollen, dirt, dust and other contaminants can reduce the effectiveness and beauty of your sealer. Often a good pressure wash of the surface will remove contaminants from your sealer, which restores the beauty and performance you love and let's you put off resealing until next season.
After you have pressure washed the surface, if you feel the surface is just not what it used to be, it may be the right time to reseal. Before you purchase DOMINATOR sealers for your resealing project, take look at the 4 tests below to make sure your new sealer will provide optimal performance on top of the previous sealer.
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If your answer is YES, then you're all set! Choose your favorite DOMINATOR sealer and apply one coat to bring your pavers back to life.
All of the DOMINATOR sealers — SG+, LG+, NG+, STONE+ GLOSS and STONE+ MATTE — can be used on top of a previous application of any other DOMINATOR sealer. Simply power wash and allow to thoroughly dry (as you would for any sealer application), and you're good to go.
If your answer is NO or you are not sure, move on to step two.
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PRO TIP: As always before you seal OR reseal, check for efflorescence on your pavers. Not sure what that is? Learn more here!Â
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Many sealers age gracefully, simply losing their water repellent abilities and color enhancing qualities slowly over time and with wear. If this is true for your pavers, then skip on forward to #3 and #4!
However, some sealers show their age more dramatically:
If your current sealer is showing these types of visible signs of lifting from your pavers, then you will need to remove the existing sealant from your pavers before re-sealing. This applies whether you plan to use DOMINATOR sealers or any other brand. Think of it this way: new sealer applied to a pealing surface of old sealant will bond to the pealing sealant and NOT the pavers. You wouldn't paint over already cracked paint and expect good results, right? Save yourself time and money by stripping the problem sealer off; a new coat of sealer will only make the issue worse.
If a sealer (other than DOMINATOR) is clearly present on the surface and does not appear to have any of the issues mentioned above, proceed to test #3.
Now it's time to check whether the current sealer barrier is still present. Drip a small amount of water — via a tablespoon, water dropper, or similar — onto the surface of your paver. Does the water absorb quickly or does it pool on the surface? If the water absorbed, then move on to test #4!Â
If water pooled or beaded on the surface of the paver without absorbing, that means your current sealer is still creating a water repellent barrier. If you were to apply new sealer on top, the new sealer would simply bond to the existing sealant and NOT to your pavers. OR the new sealer may not bond at all to the existing sealer if they are incompatible. In order to get color enhancement, the sealer must be able to absorb into your surface.
If your current sealer is aging gracefully and a porosity test reveals that water is getting through to your pavers, it is time to conduct a small test that will help you determine whether a new application of sealer will adhere (or bond) strongly to your pavers, or if it would instead lift off with the old sealer over time. In order to be sure you get your money's worth on a new application of paver sealer, we STRONGLY recommend that you conduct this adhesion tape test (adapted from ASTM D 3359-02) before applying DOMINATOR on pavers previously sealed with a different product.
If you complete this test without any peeling or removal of the sealer, then you can re-seal your entire project area with DOMINATOR sealers without worries. However, if there was even a trace amount of sealer removed with the duct tape, we recommend completely stripping the previous sealer before re-sealing with DOMINATOR sealers.
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Tire marks are one of your common questions, as in, "Why do I have tire marks after I sealed my pavers?" To answer this, we need to understand how tire marks occur, on any surface, as well as what our research and development team considers and tests during product development of our sealers. Â