If you like the look of your pavers when they are wet, then you want a wet look paver sealer. There are two primary types of wet look sealers that can be used to achieve a wet look, and which paver sealer is best for your pavers will depend entirely on how much of a wet look you want to achieve. Penetrating wet look sealers will slightly enhance the color of your pavers, while acrylic sealers will help to achieve the highest level of color enhancement you can get with a sealer.

Matte Wet Look: The Armor WL550 is a great matte wet look sealer for pavers. It penetrates into the pavers where it chemically reacts to form a hydrophobic barrier within the pores. It works entirely below the surface and will not leave behind a surface film. The WL550 is designed to provide a slight color enhancement to the pavers. It is best to apply the sealer to a test area to see if you are happy with the level of color enhancement, or if you need to use an acrylic sealer instead.

Low Gloss Wet Look: For a low gloss wet look, you want the Armor AR350 (solvent-based) or the WB15 (water-based). Water-based acrylic sealers provide a slight color enhancement, while solvent-based acrylic sealers provide a dramatic color enhancement. If you are looking for the most amount of color enhancement you can get with a sealer, the Armor AR350 is the best option. In additional to providing a wet look, acrylic sealers will help to protect the pavers from deterioration caused by surface abrasion and water absorption by providing a lasting, protective surface film.

High Gloss Wet Look: For a high gloss wet look, you want the Armor AR500 (solvent-based) or the WB25 (water-based). Water-based acrylic sealers provide a slight color enhancement, while solvent-based acrylic sealers provide a dramatic color enhancement. If you are looking for the most amount of color enhancement you can get with a sealer, the Armor AR500 is the best option. In additional to providing a wet look, acrylic sealers will help to protect the pavers from deterioration caused by surface abrasion and water absorption by providing a lasting, protective surface film.

How To Apply a Wet Look Paver Sealer To Get The Best Results

Pavers are very porous and for that reason, will soak up more sealer than concrete. What can be achieved in one coat on concrete, may take up to 3 coats to achieve on pavers. Here are a few application tips to consider when applying a wet look sealer to pavers.

Make Sure the Pavers Are Clean and Dry: While cleaning the pavers and allowing them to dry doesn’t help achieve a higher level of enhancement, it does help to prevent issues that can arise during application. While cleaning is very important, ensuring the pavers are dry is perhaps the most important factor. If a wet look sealer is applied to pavers that haven’t been giving 24-48 hours to dry completely after being cleaned, you can end up with bubbles, white hazy spots, and delamination.

Use a Sprayer: If you don’t want to use a sprayer and prefer to use a roller, that is perfectly fine. Rollers are great application tools. Using a sprayer can help to reduce waste, and help to ensure a more even application which is why it is preferred.

Space Out The Coats: This applies to applying acrylic sealers. As mentioned above, pavers are very porous. They will continue to soak up material much like a sponge – you could pour a gallon of water onto the pavers and they will soak the water up until water starts to come out of the pores. If you apply the first coat of an acrylic sealer and allow it to cure, it will produce a hardened resin in the pores. The resin will force the next coat to stay closer to the surface. This helps to reduce waste, and helps to achieve a deeper wet look, and higher gloss level faster. If you are able to space coats out every 24 hours, that is best. Most pavers will require at least 2 coats, and may will require a third. Now, solvent-based acrylic sealers are a lot easier to space the coats out with. When it comes to water-based acrylic sealers, you don’t always have that luxury. It is important to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines to ensure you are staying within the recoat windows if you are using a water-based acrylic.

Use The Right Type of Sealer: Further down the page we will discuss the best types of wet look sealers to apply to each type of paver. While penetrating wet look sealers can be applied to all types of pavers, acrylic paver sealers can’t be applied to several different types of pavers.

Apply The Right Amount of Sealer: Porosity plays a large role in how much material you will need to apply. When applying an acrylic to a concrete paver, you may need 2-3 coats. If applying a penetrating sealer to flagstone, bluestone, or slate, you may only need 1 coat. It is important to follow the manufacturer’s directions and apply the material to a small test area before treating the entire area.

Types of Pavers

There are several types of paver sealers and which type of wet look sealer can also depend on the type of paver being sealed.

• Concrete Pavers
• Travertine Pavers
• Cobblestone Pavers
• Brick Pavers
• Bluestone Pavers
• Limestone Pavers
• Fieldstone Pavers
• Granite Pavers
• Slate Pavers

Concrete pavers can be sealed with a penetrating wet look sealer or an acrylic wet look sealer. Both types of wet look sealers will look great and perform well when applied to a concrete paver. If you are sealing a travertine, cobblestone, brick, bluestone, limestone, fieldstone, granite, slate, or other type of natural stone paver, you want to avoid the use of acrylic wet look sealers and stick to using a penetrating wet look sealer instead. Brick pavers and natural stone pavers have a high failure rate with acrylics. Now, that isn’t to say an acrylic can’t survive on a natural stone or brick paver, but there is a high chance the acrylic will fail within the first couple of months. They will fail on brick simply because they are too porous, and they will fail on natural stone because they aren’t porous enough.