Thanks for the upload and great information! You helped me save several thousand $$ from a sealing job gone bad! I’d post pics but you tube doesn’t do that. Thanks again!!! I followed your direction and even found the surface cleaner at a local Home Depot!
thank you well done video. off to building supply store for Xylene. Don't have the attachment for the power washer but I'll figure out the power washer to remove the old sealer. I hope my stamped concrete resembles what you just showed. It looks brand new. One thing, I've noticed a couple spots where the concrete chipped off, can I fill those spots in with anything? I lost my husband last winter so I;m trying my hardest to keep everything in tip top shape as I know he would of.
Does the Pressure washer unit have just water jets or water jets with brushes as it spins so it scrubs the concrete? what brand and model is it? Thanks
Hey buddy is the same process for a paver driveway?, I got a costumer who's need sealer his driveway again, and I got hard time trying to figure out what kind of sealer got on it
Hello. Thank you for posting this! I have a newly sealed concrete that I would like to remove the sealer on so we can stain it. Would it be okay to use acetone to remove the sealer or only xylene? Thank you!
I wouldn't try doing this lower than 2700... at the same time it is doable. My surface cleaner is rated for 5000 psi, I've never pushed more than 4000 through it. Thanks for watching!
How do you completely strip the acrylic sealer? Im looking to apply a penetrating sealer to a sand finish concrete but have to remove the acrylic sealer so that its able to penetrate.
@@WindyCitySteam Thank you for your reponse! I was taking out some acrylic paint and applied citristrip gel to the top and it took the paint off as well as the sealer (i didnt know it was acrylic) and there is faded white spots there. Even after apply the xylene in those areas the spots are still there. Any thoughts how remove the spots? Or do i need to reseal with a wet look seal to hide the areas.
@@corneliucapusan5997 If I'm understanding correctly what I would do is take and spray down a whole section of concrete with Xylene, this will reactivate all the acrylic, then take a dry roller and start rolling through it all and spread some of the existing acrylic on the spots that are missing sealer... keep rolling until it starts setting up on your roller... hope that makes sense.
Thankyou. I jet bought a house with acrylic sealer on all the interior floors. Its peeling off like snake skin all over and I can't get it off completely. Ill try this next, a professional quoted 3$ a ft to remove it 😭
Would it be the same process for an acid stain sealer, I put the sealer too thick in the garage and it scuffs very easily is it possible to reseal it again ?
Great video! I hired a new worker and they sealed overtop of dirt on a patio stone driveway, I am currently in process of fixing the job, do you think xylene will break it down enough for me to clean the dirt off and reseal it, I would have to be quick , wouldnt I ? Looking forward for your reply!
Windy City Steam I installed a sealer and white spots started to how up after it rained .so I used xylene to removed the spots and it worked on some spots but other spots it looks like it removed all the sealer.Can I just install a new sealer over this instead of removing the old sealer to save money
@@gabrielsalazar6648 You can, I'd probably start over. Clean it all, seal the bare spots and then do a thin coat on top of it all. But go thin, chances are it turned white from putting it down too heavy, we call it "clouding" or "fogging", but it typically happens when you put it down too heavy, or don't let it fully dry before applying sealer, best of luck!
Windy City Steam I did it yesterday the customer said it looks new again but I’m opening it doesn’t happen again .its been 2days already so I hope it stays like that
@@gabrielsalazar6648 Hey Gabriel, good to hear you were able to fix your job, and most importantly make your customer happy. Really if it's been 48 hours you should be in the clear! Thanks for watching!
No that's just what you get when you mix water with Xylene, or sealer. The acrylic sealer is broken down and looks white as it mixes with water... Thanks for watching!
Hi! Great video, you've given me hope! We had a patio that held its sealant for two years, then we resealed professionally and it stayed good another two years, now it won't hold the seal (gets all cloudy and dull) after just a few months, if that. I think we need to strip and reseal like you did here. What I need to know is how can we determine what type of sealer was used (so we remove it with the correct chemicals)? I heard there is water based and some other kind, and I don't know how to test correctly...hopeful it's whatever you have here so we can just use the Xylene, but want to do this right.
Hi Angela, sorry for my delayed response I'm just now seeing this. OK Yeah there are a couple types of sealers you have water based, and you have solvent based. I never use water based sealers... I always use a solvent based acrylic sealer. Here's why... since it is solvent based, it takes a solvent to break it down, like Xylene... If you have a water based sealer, water breaks it down over time... which is why they wear off so quickly... I'd test a small area with Xylene, you dump a tiny bit on a small area... let it sit for about 30 seconds to a minute and wipe it up with a towel. If it's a solvent based sealer it will wipe right up... if it doesn't wipe right up or get "sticky" it's water based, if it's water based a good pressure washing should get most of it off honestly... you could use a product like floor stripper from your local hardware store to speed up or simplify the process if you don't have much pressure... hope this helps.
Hi, Question - I have a client who sealed their concrete patio 2 yrs ago. It still looks good but it has some algae growing on the surface. What would be the best method to clean it (softwash or surface cleaner)? Or do I have to clean, strip and reseal?
I would probably soft wash it, use something that will kill the algae. If the sealer still looks good there is no point of stripping, and applying new. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!
Hey Jeff, so this complete job was about $1,600 completed. I usually get about $1/sq.ft. if we are just cleaning and sealing, I'll add in another $.50/ft to cover product and time if we will be stripping with xylene like we did on this job. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!
I have a question is there anyway I can contact you to send you a picture to see if I have the same problem with one of my jobs also what sealer would you recommend for brown concrete patio
Sure, windycitysteam@gmail.com , I always recommend a clear, solvent based acrylic sealer, this stuff is what I use on high end jobs, the gloss is great! You may have a hard time finding it at a supplier nearby depending on where you are, have a look: amzn.to/3mqIh4b
I tried this method, worked pretty well. Only thing is some areas are still chalky looking. Is it recommended to roll Xylene on to melt everything and get rid of some of the chaulky looking areas, or will the new sealer essentially do the same thing?
You can go over it a 2nd time to get the rest, use more xylene than last time, or you can add xylene to your sealer, this will reactivate any existing acrylic on the surface as you are re-sealing. Actually my main supplier Owens Supply in Plainfield, IL sells sealer already mixed with Xylene but you can mix it yourself too.... I actually just did one like this where I added Xylene to the sealer, and you can really see the natural color correction, cool stuff! Keep your eyes out for the footage, I'll get it up this weekend. Hope that helps, best of luck! Thanks for watching!
@@WindyCitySteam thanks for the quick response. Yep, I know exactly where that is. I didn't even realize you were local to me. I guess I should of paid more attention to the "Windy City" part in your name, or I would have just called you! It's harder than I thought to find a business to do this around my area.
@@jeff_9074 Oh trust me, I know. A few years back, I had an important client tell me she couldn’t find anyone to do her patio and driveway… and I took it on. Decided to start offering it as a service with my business and now I stay busy in the summer maintaining stamped concrete. I am unsure why no one wants the work but hey I’m happy to have it. I honestly don’t even know how much carpet we will clean this year, and I started a carpet cleaning company lol. People are booking us all over saying nobody else will do it… If you are somewhat local feel free to reach out. I live in Wheaton and will travel about an hour or so in any direction, yesterday I started my day in Monee and ended my day in North Barrington… Today I’m in Bloomingdale and Yorkville prepping patios to seal on Friday once the rain passes, so it seems like you have your project handled, but in the future feel free to reach out if you don’t feel like messing with it.
@@WindyCitySteam Well you're def in the right business that's for sure haha. I'm using foundationarmor this go. Learned my lesson the hard way with the cheap box store stuff. I'm close but, still have some more work to do. With having to possibly do a second attempt at removing what's left of the sealer, and renting the power washer and surface cleaner, I'd be interested in at least seeing what you'd charge to take over. Got an email you can temp throw up so I can shoot you some pictures and get an estimate?
No, It's really not necessary if you are sealing with an acrylic, acrylic sealers have xylene in them which "reactivates" any existing sealer so it meshes well and looks good typically after a pressure wash & seal... I RARELY do any stripping... but sometimes I run into things like this where the homeowner had overapplied sealer a few times and it makes sense to get it off the surface and start fresh. If the sealer is applied correctly, you shouldn't need to strip it really... hope this helps.
Hey Rocky, I do not understand your first question… If you are asking if it will damage paint, a stamped concrete patio should be stained not painted and no it doesn’t affect the stain. If you are asking if it will damage plants, the answer is yes it CAN. You want to be careful in those areas, try not to let it run off in those areas. Whenever clients ask me to strip I let them know this ahead of time. I tell them either them or their landscaper might have to plant some grass seed.. I didn’t kill any surrounding plants on this job. Hope this helps, thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video - pretty sure you saved my patio. And my husband's mental health.
Doesn't the xylene kill the grass it lands on??
no doubt
Any chemical will kill the grass it's the known risk of the job
Thanks for the upload and great information! You helped me save several thousand $$ from a sealing job gone bad! I’d post pics but you tube doesn’t do that.
Thanks again!!! I followed your direction and even found the surface cleaner at a local Home Depot!
Hey Walter, thanks for watching! Glad my video helped you!
thank you well done video. off to building supply store for Xylene. Don't have the attachment for the power washer but I'll figure out the power washer to remove the old sealer. I hope my stamped concrete resembles what you just showed. It looks brand new. One thing, I've noticed a couple spots where the concrete chipped off, can I fill those spots in with anything? I lost my husband last winter so I;m trying my hardest to keep everything in tip top shape as I know he would of.
What is the recommended temperature for removing the concrete sealer ?
Hi. Would it work to use a pressure washer hose?
Does the Pressure washer unit have just water jets or water jets with brushes as it spins so it scrubs the concrete? what brand and model is it? Thanks
Hey buddy is the same process for a paver driveway?, I got a costumer who's need sealer his driveway again, and I got hard time trying to figure out what kind of sealer got on it
Hello. Thank you for posting this! I have a newly sealed concrete that I would like to remove the sealer on so we can stain it. Would it be okay to use acetone to remove the sealer or only xylene? Thank you!
does the Xylene kill the grass???? what sealer do you recommend
how long do you have to wait before pressure washing? Could you add a surfactant like slo mo to help it stay wet?
Will this kill the grass around the job?
No as u can pre wet but if AstroTurf u have to be more careful
What minimum PSI pressure washer is recommended and what PSI surface cleaner attachment is that your using?
I wouldn't try doing this lower than 2700... at the same time it is doable. My surface cleaner is rated for 5000 psi, I've never pushed more than 4000 through it. Thanks for watching!
How do you completely strip the acrylic sealer? Im looking to apply a penetrating sealer to a sand finish concrete but have to remove the acrylic sealer so that its able to penetrate.
You would want to repeat this process until it is fully stripped. Reactivate the acrylic with Xylene or Toluene and blast it off.
@@WindyCitySteam Thank you for your reponse!
I was taking out some acrylic paint and applied citristrip gel to the top and it took the paint off as well as the sealer (i didnt know it was acrylic) and there is faded white spots there. Even after apply the xylene in those areas the spots are still there. Any thoughts how remove the spots? Or do i need to reseal with a wet look seal to hide the areas.
@@corneliucapusan5997 If I'm understanding correctly what I would do is take and spray down a whole section of concrete with Xylene, this will reactivate all the acrylic, then take a dry roller and start rolling through it all and spread some of the existing acrylic on the spots that are missing sealer... keep rolling until it starts setting up on your roller... hope that makes sense.
Thankyou. I jet bought a house with acrylic sealer on all the interior floors. Its peeling off like snake skin all over and I can't get it off completely. Ill try this next, a professional quoted 3$ a ft to remove it 😭
Where can I buy the machine?
Does the xylene kill grass or vegetation?
Would it be the same process for an acid stain sealer, I put the sealer too thick in the garage and it scuffs very easily is it possible to reseal it again ?
Stained concrete? I would just put a clearcoat acrylic on top of it if I'm understanding correctly... thanks for watching!
Great video! I hired a new worker and they sealed overtop of dirt on a patio stone driveway, I am currently in process of fixing the job, do you think xylene will break it down enough for me to clean the dirt off and reseal it, I would have to be quick , wouldnt I ? Looking forward for your reply!
After stripping with xylene, did you rinse with hose?
Does that not hurt the grass or kill the vegetation?
It does, read through comments for more info, thanks for watching!
I need help can I ask a question
Sure, what's up?
Windy City Steam I installed a sealer and white spots started to how up after it rained .so I used xylene to removed the spots and it worked on some spots but other spots it looks like it removed all the sealer.Can I just install a new sealer over this instead of removing the old sealer to save money
@@gabrielsalazar6648 You can, I'd probably start over. Clean it all, seal the bare spots and then do a thin coat on top of it all. But go thin, chances are it turned white from putting it down too heavy, we call it "clouding" or "fogging", but it typically happens when you put it down too heavy, or don't let it fully dry before applying sealer, best of luck!
Windy City Steam I did it yesterday the customer said it looks new again but I’m opening it doesn’t happen again .its been 2days already so I hope it stays like that
@@gabrielsalazar6648 Hey Gabriel, good to hear you were able to fix your job, and most importantly make your customer happy. Really if it's been 48 hours you should be in the clear! Thanks for watching!
Are you running soap through it too or why does it turn white as your running it?
No that's just what you get when you mix water with Xylene, or sealer. The acrylic sealer is broken down and looks white as it mixes with water... Thanks for watching!
Hi! Great video, you've given me hope! We had a patio that held its sealant for two years, then we resealed professionally and it stayed good another two years, now it won't hold the seal (gets all cloudy and dull) after just a few months, if that. I think we need to strip and reseal like you did here. What I need to know is how can we determine what type of sealer was used (so we remove it with the correct chemicals)? I heard there is water based and some other kind, and I don't know how to test correctly...hopeful it's whatever you have here so we can just use the Xylene, but want to do this right.
Hi Angela, sorry for my delayed response I'm just now seeing this. OK Yeah there are a couple types of sealers you have water based, and you have solvent based. I never use water based sealers... I always use a solvent based acrylic sealer. Here's why... since it is solvent based, it takes a solvent to break it down, like Xylene... If you have a water based sealer, water breaks it down over time... which is why they wear off so quickly... I'd test a small area with Xylene, you dump a tiny bit on a small area... let it sit for about 30 seconds to a minute and wipe it up with a towel. If it's a solvent based sealer it will wipe right up... if it doesn't wipe right up or get "sticky" it's water based, if it's water based a good pressure washing should get most of it off honestly... you could use a product like floor stripper from your local hardware store to speed up or simplify the process if you don't have much pressure... hope this helps.
Hi,
Question - I have a client who sealed their concrete patio 2 yrs ago. It still looks good but it has some algae growing on the surface. What would be the best method to clean it (softwash or surface cleaner)? Or do I have to clean, strip and reseal?
I would probably soft wash it, use something that will kill the algae. If the sealer still looks good there is no point of stripping, and applying new. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!
@@WindyCitySteam
Sounds good
Thank you
Greta video! May I ask what's the best or recommended precautions when using xylene? I've read it's pretty harmful if breathing even short term
U should be using outdoors... still grab a respirator or n95 if you can find one anywhere.... thanks for watching!
How much does something like this cost per sqft, or for this patio for example? Thanks!
Hey Jeff, so this complete job was about $1,600 completed. I usually get about $1/sq.ft. if we are just cleaning and sealing, I'll add in another $.50/ft to cover product and time if we will be stripping with xylene like we did on this job. Hope that helps, thanks for watching!
@@WindyCitySteam thank you!
I have a question is there anyway I can contact you to send you a picture to see if I have the same problem with one of my jobs also what sealer would you recommend for brown concrete patio
Sure, windycitysteam@gmail.com , I always recommend a clear, solvent based acrylic sealer, this stuff is what I use on high end jobs, the gloss is great! You may have a hard time finding it at a supplier nearby depending on where you are, have a look: amzn.to/3mqIh4b
I tried this method, worked pretty well. Only thing is some areas are still chalky looking. Is it recommended to roll Xylene on to melt everything and get rid of some of the chaulky looking areas, or will the new sealer essentially do the same thing?
You can go over it a 2nd time to get the rest, use more xylene than last time, or you can add xylene to your sealer, this will reactivate any existing acrylic on the surface as you are re-sealing. Actually my main supplier Owens Supply in Plainfield, IL sells sealer already mixed with Xylene but you can mix it yourself too.... I actually just did one like this where I added Xylene to the sealer, and you can really see the natural color correction, cool stuff! Keep your eyes out for the footage, I'll get it up this weekend. Hope that helps, best of luck! Thanks for watching!
@@WindyCitySteam thanks for the quick response. Yep, I know exactly where that is. I didn't even realize you were local to me. I guess I should of paid more attention to the "Windy City" part in your name, or I would have just called you! It's harder than I thought to find a business to do this around my area.
@@jeff_9074 Oh trust me, I know. A few years back, I had an important client tell me she couldn’t find anyone to do her patio and driveway… and I took it on. Decided to start offering it as a service with my business and now I stay busy in the summer maintaining stamped concrete. I am unsure why no one wants the work but hey I’m happy to have it. I honestly don’t even know how much carpet we will clean this year, and I started a carpet cleaning company lol. People are booking us all over saying nobody else will do it… If you are somewhat local feel free to reach out. I live in Wheaton and will travel about an hour or so in any direction, yesterday I started my day in Monee and ended my day in North Barrington… Today I’m in Bloomingdale and Yorkville prepping patios to seal on Friday once the rain passes, so it seems like you have your project handled, but in the future feel free to reach out if you don’t feel like messing with it.
@@WindyCitySteam Well you're def in the right business that's for sure haha. I'm using foundationarmor this go. Learned my lesson the hard way with the cheap box store stuff. I'm close but, still have some more work to do. With having to possibly do a second attempt at removing what's left of the sealer, and renting the power washer and surface cleaner, I'd be interested in at least seeing what you'd charge to take over. Got an email you can temp throw up so I can shoot you some pictures and get an estimate?
@@WindyCitySteam Thanks! Email sent.
Is this just good for acrylic?
Yes, Xylene reactivates existing acrylic sealer, thanks for watching!
Great video! Should you use xylene every time your prepping for reseal?
No, It's really not necessary if you are sealing with an acrylic, acrylic sealers have xylene in them which "reactivates" any existing sealer so it meshes well and looks good typically after a pressure wash & seal... I RARELY do any stripping... but sometimes I run into things like this where the homeowner had overapplied sealer a few times and it makes sense to get it off the surface and start fresh. If the sealer is applied correctly, you shouldn't need to strip it really... hope this helps.
Is the machine a pressure washer?
It is.. thanks for watching!
Wont Xylene damage all of the patio pant, if any around the patio? And if not, how much would 1 gal. cover in sq. ft?
Hey Rocky,
I do not understand your first question… If you are asking if it will damage paint, a stamped concrete patio should be stained not painted and no it doesn’t affect the stain. If you are asking if it will damage plants, the answer is yes it CAN. You want to be careful in those areas, try not to let it run off in those areas. Whenever clients ask me to strip I let them know this ahead of time. I tell them either them or their landscaper might have to plant some grass seed.. I didn’t kill any surrounding plants on this job. Hope this helps, thanks for watching!
A gallon of xylene should cover about 150-200 sq.ft.
@@WindyCitySteam Thank you! for the awesome and super quick response. I actually did mean plants :)
Does this kill the grass?
Already answered in comments, thanks for watching!
In the time it took you to type 7 words you could have just said yes or no
Update on how pissed the homeowner was about the dead vegetation ? Xylene isnt good for anything
will this kill the grass?