How to Fix Painted Surface of New Concrete Slab?

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  Drakesy on 14/05/2024 - 23:07

  +6

  No concrete surface treatment is immune, the only way that you would've been able to avoid this is to use a black pigment concrete aggregate or fine grained asphalt.

  Painted coatings will always degrade, on our commercial jobs we're lucky to get 4-5 years. We used this stuff pretty much the best in the industry but its not cheap and still is only considered temporary on areas trafficable by vehicles.

  Generally brushed finishes will chip to a degree so you are partially right, however this is a side effect of painting concrete. Might just be better off repainting constantly until it no longer chips? Is the surface tacky or is the sealant like a teflon finish.

  • 

    highon2str on 15/05/2024 - 13:50

    This is the sealant that was used. What I don't get is why this is happening almost straight away an only with the new driveway pour? The part of the original driveway that is well over 10+ yrs old never wore like this.

    • 

      Drakesy on 15/05/2024 - 13:54

      The brushed marks will always be a point of wear.
      Alternative would've been to not brush, but then winter would be a nightmare - especially if not level. The concreter was probably erring on the side of caution - a lawsuit for someone slipping and falling costs more than some spotty paint.

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  MS Paint on 14/05/2024 - 23:31

  +1

  Are the tracks from a wheelie bin?

  • 

    Nugs on 15/05/2024 - 10:03

    track too narrow, maybe skateboard, roller blades, dragging cricket stumps?
    or they don't have tIres on their car wheels
    .

  • 

    highon2str on 15/05/2024 - 13:52

    Looks sus I know, but definitely from cars. We have cameras out front and no kids equipment.

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  joka on 15/05/2024 - 06:09

  Did you have guard the wet slab to stop teenagers from drawing the obligatory male reproductive organ?

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  JimmyF on 15/05/2024 - 09:51

  +1

  We found a local concreter on FB and they have been a great bunch to deal with

  I feel that luck is about to run out as doesn't look to be an easy fix.

  so I'm a bit puzzled as to why this is happenning?

  Looks like it's not sticking to the base/concrete….

  Honestly if you wanted a colour, always pay the extra for 'colour' in the mix, it lasts far longer than anything else.

  • 

    highon2str on 15/05/2024 - 13:54

    On hindsight colour in the mix sounds reasonable. Though as I was mentioning, we have had our original painted driveway for over 10 years and it's never chipped the way the new one has.

    • 

      JimmyF on 15/05/2024 - 14:25

      On hindsight colour in the mix sounds reasonable

      Yeah I know, it is one of the many joys of hindsight sadly. More of a lesson for next time :(

      we have had our original painted driveway for over 10 years and it's never chipped the way the new one has.

      For whatever reason, the coating isn't getting a decent attachment to the base.

      This could be poor products, soft or brittle concrete etc.

      Maybe the product hasn't had enough time to cure? Normally they say to wait 28 days. How long did they wait?

• 

  wobblydrow on 15/05/2024 - 14:22

  +2

  Hi

  The problem is painting or sealing green concrete is causing a heap of issues. Even at 28 days, whilst the concrete has significantly cured, their is still a lot of lime around that's high pH which can cause problems with coatings, not to mention vapour pressure coming up.
  A well prepared driveway can be sealed using a high quality epoxy based material, won't abrade like you are seeing, but as with anything if it's slapped down a few days after the concrete is poured the results going to be poor. A good quality product correctly I stalled will last many yearswithout issue, but yes, direct colouring is the only permanent way to colour concrete.

  Sealer on top isn't going to fix a subsurface issue, and unfortunately you now have a coating down that's been compromised by the concrete curing reaction…if the coating is softened by the high pH it makes wearing easier and may not bond so doesn't matter what sealer is used, the bond between the paint and concrete isn't good.

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  AndyC1 on 15/05/2024 - 18:35

  Brother who does concreting for a living advised me to wait at least 2 months before painting some steps I put in as before this is may be okay or not depending on the concrete and weather, but after 2 months is is well and truly cured with the exception of the wet season in the tropics.

  • 

    wobblydrow on 15/05/2024 - 19:15

    Actually wet season in the tropics isn't an issue…. Concrete cures by an hydration reaction, not by drying, high humidity isn't an issue, especially as its warm which speeds up the reaction speed. But yes longer it's left the better

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  highon2str on 15/05/2024 - 22:46

  Thanks for all the input. Sound like not much can be done which is a shame as it was a 13k job and it now looks all scratched up. 🙁