When talking about wet look, there are a few possible definitions. In some cases, wet look is referring to the gloss level and in other cases, wet look is referring to color enhancement. When choosing a wet look sealer it is important to read through the listing and technical data, refer to photos, and when available, consider applying a sample to a test area.
Wet Look Acrylic Sealers: High Gloss
If you are looking for a high gloss acrylic sealer, you can go with a water based or solvent based acrylic. Both water based acrylic sealers and solvent based acrylic sealers will offer a high gloss variation.
Foundation Armor manufactures a few high gloss acrylic sealers. The main difference between water based and solvent based is that solvent based acrylic sealers will darken and enhance dull and faded coloring while water based acrylic sealers will offer minimal color enhancement.
Solvent Based High Gloss Acrylic Sealers
- Armor AR500 – The Armor AR500 is Foundation Armor’s best selling high gloss acrylic sealer. It will darken and enhance any dull and faded coloring, and provide a high gloss finish.
- Armor AX25 – The Armor AX25 combines a solvent based acrylic with a water repellent sealer. It essentially combines two great sealers into one amazing product. This solvent based acrylic will darken and enhance any dull and faded coloring, and provide a high gloss finish. Its superior water repellency characteristics make this a great sealer for areas constantly exposed to water, such as pool decks.
- Armor LV25 – The Armor LV25 is a solvent based acrylic sealer designed to cure and enhance new, uncured concrete surfaces.
Water Based High Gloss Acrylic Concrete Sealers
- Armor WB25 – The Armor WB25 is Foundation Armor’s best selling water based high gloss acrylic sealer. It doubles as a cure and seal and will offer a high gloss without a dramatic color enhancement.
Wet Look Acrylic Sealers: Color Enhancement
Solvent based acrylic sealers are designed to enhance dull and faded surfaces. Depending on the substrate, the color enhancement can be pretty dramatic. If you like what your surface looks like when wet, or if you would like a color enhancement, a solvent based acrylic sealer is the best option. Water based acrylic sealers can offer a slight color enhancement, but typically the color enhancement is more dramatic with a solvent based acrylic sealer.
If you are looking for a color enhancement, Foundation Armor manufactures the following wet look acrylic sealers:
- Armor WL550 – Matte wet look sealer.
- Armor AR350 – Low gloss wet look sealer.
- Armor AR500 – High gloss wet look sealer.
- Armor AX25 – High gloss wet look sealer that combines a water repellent sealer with a solvent based acrylic.
- Armor LV25 – High gloss wet look cure and seal for new, uncured concrete.
Now, to be clear, wet look and colored sealers are very different. Wet look sealers are designed to enhance the natural coloring of the surface. They are designed to darken the surface to provide a similar appearance to being wet. The sealers are clear and they do not add any coloring to the substrate. Colored sealers are sealers that have pigment in them and will add a color-enhanced semi-transparent to opaque finish.
What Can Acrylic Sealers Be Applied To?
Acrylic sealers can be applied to concrete and concrete pavers. If the concrete or pavers are unsealed, a water based or solvent based acrylic sealer can be applied. If the concrete or pavers are previously sealed, you want to recoat them with the same category of sealer. Water based acrylic sealers should be recoated with water based acrylics, and solvent based acrylic sealers should be recoated with solvent based acrylics.
Acrylic sealers should not be applied to red clay brick, slate, natural stone, or flagstone. In some cases, acrylics may survive when applied to those materials, there is a very high failure rate. Red clay brick, slate, natural stone, and flagstone are very porous and allow for large amounts of moisture to pass through them. Acrylic sealers are sensitive to moisture, especially during the curing process, and will peel or haze if exposed. If you are looking for a wet look sealer for red clay brick, slate, natural stone, or flagstone, consider the Armor WL550.
