Changed my mind about using acrylic sealers after a job in Tucson

I always used solvent-based sealers. Thought acrylics were for amateurs. Then I did a driveway for a guy who builds pools out in the desert. He told me the UV out there eats solvent sealers in under a year. Cracks like crazy. I looked it up online from a concrete contractor forum out of Arizona. Found a study from a testing lab in Phoenix. Acrylic sealers actually flex better in extreme heat. Let the concrete breathe too. I tried a water-based acrylic on my own patio six months ago after that. Still looks good. No peeling. Has anyone else made the switch from solvent after hearing something similar?

2 comments

2 Comments

carr.elliot9d ago

The water-based acrylic I used has held up through two seasons of Texas heat and a few gullywashers. Applied it on a stamped patio and it didn't go cloudy or peel like I worried it might. The key was waiting for a dry stretch and putting it on thin. Might be different in Tucson humidity, but it worked fine for me in a similar climate.

rowanharris9d ago

Wait, are you sure a water-based acrylic is what that pool guy was recommending? Most of the guys I know in Arizona use solvent-based acrylics, not water-based, for outdoor desert work. The water-based ones can re-emulsify in the monsoon rains. The lab study you found might have been testing a specific type of solvent acrylic.