How to rejuvinate stamped concrete?

[Vand]

Hi Bunnings community

I am seeking some advice on how I can rejuvenate my faded and aged stamped concrete at my home. See pictures:

I believe the original colour should have been a charcoal, whereas now it's very cloudy, faded and tired looking.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[Jason]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thanks for your question @Vand. Let me tag one of our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts in @EricL to assist you as soon as possible.

How big is the area and have you tried any solutions so far? 

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @Vand

Thank you for sharing your question about how to rejuvenate your stamped concrete area. Looking at your pictures it seems that a sealer has been applied to your concrete area. In order to paint or put a new sealer on it, the old sealer must be stripped off first before the new one is placed on. Putting the new sealer over the old one will void the warranty of your product.

Generally, to remove the old sealer you'll need to either chemically strip it off or mechanically grind it off. Using a power washer or a chemical cleaner will improve the look of the concrete area, but it will not remove the blemishes and the areas where the sealer has worn off. 

Can you please tell us the approximate size of the concrete stamped area? Our members will be able to approximate how long it might take to strip the sealer.   

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to paint a concrete driveway

Let me call on our experienced members @TedBear, @Adam_W and @JoeAzza for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[JoeAzza]

Hi @Vand 

I found this on how to reseal  outdoor  pavers, maybe it's the same process as sealing pattern concrete, maybe @EricL  could confirm if this is ok to use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z_oi_Rt924

[Vand]

Thank you everyone for your help

The area is very large, approx 150m2

Is there any way to be able to tell specifically what the discolouration and fading has been caused by? I ask because I wonder if the current discolouration was from overly aggressive pressure washing and if it's possible that some faded sections have been marked down to raw concrete. If so, would that be something that a new sealer coat won't change? Or, is the colour always provided by the sealer for stamped concrete and a proper re-application will fix the colour patches? Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with the stamped concrete construction process to understand what each coating/additive is like.

[JoeAzza]

Hi @Vand 

I found this video on Youtube

https://youtu.be/qcjmleiyJU8

I have seen it done many years ago, and it looks similar to the video. Let me tag @EricL he might be able to add further information.

[EricL]

Hello @Vand

My apologies for the late reply. It's great that you've received excellent advice from @JoeAzza. Your assessment is not too far from what might have happened. Too much pressure washing may have damaged the sealer on top of the concrete and it's produced this surface issue. It's possible to re-coat the top of the concrete but we would need to know what original sealer was used to make it compatible. But odds are it will still require you to remove the existing sealer before applying the new sealer.

Discolouration, mould and moss contamination are often caused by concrete being exposed to the elements without the benefit of a sealer. Putting a sealer on concrete often produces an effect on the concrete surface itself. Sealing the concrete now would only give you a sealed patch effect and will not look uniform as some parts may go darker and others will stay the same because of the old sealer. 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Vand]

I really appreciate the help, thank you for the additional info!

For others in the future, this link also helped suggest that a tinted/coloured sealer may restore the concrete back to its prime:
http://www.newcretegroup.com.au/faq 
I definitely agree with the advice here that removing what ever's left of the old sealer is would be worth the effort to do it properly