What Paver Sealer do Professionals Use?
Find out which paver sealer professionals choose most commonly to install in their business
Most paver sealing companies will have a brand loyalty or a singular product they use the majority of the time. For most serious paver sealing companies the choice is going to be a Trident product largely dependent on what finish a customer may want. For customers wanting a wet look while also having the maximum protection for their pavers, they choose Trident Hurricane CAT 5. For customers that want completely invisible paver sealer with no wet look or gloss, but still have hardcore protection and joint stability, professional paver sealing companies often choose Trident Cyclone Matte Paver Sealer.
What Paver Sealer Is Better? Water Based or Acrylic?
This is a frequent question we get, but typically it is the wrong question to ask. There are two branches to the world of paver sealer, solvent based and water based. In each branch, there is an option for an acrylic sealer, and an option for a polyurethane sealer.
Between the four, the list goes as follows from best to worst options of sealer for your stone or pavers:
1: Water based Urethane (Trident Hurricane CAT 5)
2: Solvent Based Urethane (Not Common in Market)
3: Solvent Based Acrylic (Seal King Wet Look, or Techniseal Wet Look)
4: Water Based Acrylic (Alliance Gator High Gloss VOC)
The reason for this ranking system is because urethane's offer better chemical resistance and sealer protection, while also lasting longer even with a thinner coat. The difference between water based and solvent based in the urethane sealer world is very similar, and so picking the more eco friendly low VOC water based option is advisable. This also is more economically friendly because some water based urethane sealer options like Trident Hurricane CAT 5 are concentrated, meaning you can dilute the kit you buy prior to applying, this gets you more surface area for less cost without sacrificing quality.
On the acrylic side of the sealer spectrum, solvent based options are substantially stronger than water based options. The reason the solvent based acrylic still falls behind both of the urethane options, is the type of resin its made of. Acrylic is less strong and less stable of a resin when exposed to chemicals, oils, and UV light; all of which are important factors when considering how to best protect your driveway or other outdoor parts of a property.
What Type of Paver Sealer is Best?
The best type of paver sealer according to StoneSealer Group and their nationwide group of certified installers is a Water Based Urethane Paver Sealer, specifically one that uses a blend of high quality aliphatic urethanes and comes in a concentrated formula for maximum efficiency. The best of the sealers which meet all that criteria is made by Trident, and called Trident Hurricane CAT 5 Paver Sealer.
There are many similar sealers in the market, but Trident is able to differentiate compared to products like ureseal or inesco products by using higher quality urethane component resins, and longer lasting UV stabilizers in their Hurricane CAT 5 product.
What is the Longest Lasting Driveway Sealer?
In this case, the best paver sealer is also the longest lasting driveway sealer if your driveway is made of any of these materials: Interlocking pavers, Stamped Concrete, Decorative Concrete.
If you want the maximum protection from salt, oil, chemicals, gasoline, and UV damage on your driveway made of interlocking pavers or any other decorative concrete product including stamped concrete, you want to choose Trident Hurricane CAT 5 which is a concentrated high quality Urethane sealer.
We can compare the average local life span of Trident Hurricane CAT 5 to some other sealers to show why it is the longest lasting driveway sealer:
Trident Water Based Urethane (Hurricane CAT 5): 5-10 years in normal Canadian Conditions
Solvent Based Acrylic (Techniseal or Sealking): 2-3 years in normal Canadian Conditions
Water Based Acrylic (Alliance Gator or Similar): 6mo-1 year in normal Canadian Conditions
How do You Permanently Seal Pavers?
There are no true "permanent" options for sealing any surface, including interlocking pavers. The longest lasting option would be to use a saturating or "impregnating" sealer option like AquaBlocka or Stain-Proof which have an average lifespan of 10-20 years. The issue with these types of sealers is that they offer no types of wet look, colour enhancement, or ability to harden sand joints in interlocking pavers. All of those qualities are typically highly sought after by both customers and installers when looking at a professional paver sealer.
The closest to a permanent option (meaning the longest lasting paver and driveway sealer) which offers those additional benefits of wet look, sand joint hardening, and colour enhancement, is a water based concentrated urethane paver sealer from Trident called Trident Hurricane CAT 5 paver sealer.
