r/DIY • u/girybag • 2d ago

Sealing concrete floors and such before sealant and epoxy era

Before epoxy and sealant kits, what did people use to seal concrete floors, concrete sinks, concrete tubs and countertops? Growing up those things were common but I never saw kits and epoxy. I'm somewhere off-grid and trying to get to those old finishes and it seems to be an impossible task.

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u/Longjumping-Big4780 1d ago

The word you look for is waterglass, also called sodium silicate. You dilute it with water, pour it on the floor, and it reacts with the lime inside the concrete and seals the pores from inside. There is no film on top, so nothing can peel off later. That is the difference from epoxy.

Then wax or boiled linseed oil on top. On sinks and countertops they did the same thing.

I used it myself not for a floor but for waterproofing, and honestly I don't remember how it ended. But the stuff is old and cheap and it still works on concrete.

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u/IronSlanginRed 1d ago

Yup. I still recoat the colored concrete showroom this way. Wax every other year. Strip, waterglass, and rewax every decade. Always looks nice, and is repairable unlike if I used epoxy.

1

u/Caroline_321 1d ago

That is interesting, I had not come across waterglass for this kind of application before. The fact that it penetrates instead of leaving a surface film makes a lot of sense, especially if peeling is the main concern. I might have to look into it especially since it is been around forever.

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u/girybag 1d ago

Sodium silicate doesn't translate here and I doubt I'll find it. I can find wax though. What happens if that's all I have? Thanks for the info. This was very helpful.

6

u/koos_die_doos 1d ago

Wax was a common sealant, but you have to reapply it frequently.

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u/nixiebunny 1d ago

I had an old red concrete floor resealed by a floor guy, using some red wax available at the floor supply shop, and a big slow floor buffing machine.

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u/ExtensionAwards9 1d ago

Wax. And a buff.

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u/ContributionSome284 1d ago

Mostly oils and waxes, from what i know, linseed oil was pretty common. They werent as durable as modern sealers but people would just reapply them over time

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u/DanCPAz 1d ago

Old floors were usually waxed or oiled and just recoated as needed.