"Adding Super-Krete to my property has added tremendous curb appeal & value, and kept me from having to remove and replace my concrete!"- John H., Property Owner
Don’t cut corners, read and understand the data sheets on the products you are working with, consider Mother Nature during installation, always properly evaluate the concrete to determine whether it can/should be coated, perform the pH and moisture tests, and read all directions. Never intermix different systems – stick with one manufacturer so that you know who to call should your job go array. CALL THE MANUFACTURER FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT when in doubt.
Please Note: Super-Krete International, Inc. does not recommend the use of Muratic Acid on a deck surface prior to any application of Super-Krete products. Use of Muratic Acid for cleaning and/or etching purposes is not recommended. Use Super-Krete Heavy Duty Degreaser for all surface cleaning requirements. Use mechanical methods, such as a shot-blaster, to profile the surface to prepare the surface.
If Muratic Acid is used, it must be completely neutralized prior to any overlay product being applied. If any non-neutralized Muratic Acid remains on the deck surface or in the pores of the concrete it will deteriorate the concrete surface and will likely cause future delamination of any overlay product applied to the concrete deck surface.
Application Note: After Heavy Duty Degreaser has been broomed into the concrete surface and has set for 40 minutes, it can be easily be removed by rinsing with clean water. No special containment is required, unless local regulations are in place to do so. Heavy Duty Degreaser will not harm the plants or grass, and is biodegradable.
The primary cause of failure for concrete overlays and coatings is moisture vapor transmission through a concrete slab. When the pressure exceeds 5 psi, the moisture vapor emissions will try to escape through the coating, which is demonstrated by bubbling, peeling and blistering of the coating. Or, the moisture can be trapped between the concrete surface and the coating, causing the concrete surface to soften. Ultimately, both scenarios will cause coating delamination and coating failure.
Additionally, in freeze/thaw climates, water will enter into the pores of concrete, and will freeze and thaw, causing the concrete to expand and contract, eventually causing spalling and deterioration of the concrete.
Treating the concrete with Pene-Krete will reduce moisture vapor transmission rates to an acceptable level (when used as part of a Super-Krete overlay system). Pene-Kretehas been proven to strengthen concrete up to 23% and to densify the concrete by filling concrete pores with a solid mass, which also prevents water intrusion, thus eliminating potential damage from freeze/thaw cycles. Pene-Kretewill also reduce or eliminate Radon and carbon monoxide gas emissions through the concrete and the Super-Krete overlay coatings. Concrete slabs treated with Pene-Krete have proven to increase coating life by up to 300% by correcting the reasons for coating failure before they happen.
All Super-Krete bagged products are ready-mix, meaning you Just Add Water! The product you use may be determined by any of the following:
The aesthetic look your customer desires
The type of traffic expected in the area
The required depth the product needs to go
Which pattern is desired (if any). Will you use a patterned grout-line stamp, or a texture-only stamp?
Whether the surface that will be coated is level or requires additional build up or sloping.
Each of the products below have their distinct features and benefits and provide you with numerous options to satisfy your customer's needs. You should be as thorough as possible as you ask the questions above of your customer to best determine what their expectations are, and of your own expectations.
No Grout Lines: Use Super-Krete Bond-Kote. Use Bond-Kote to resurface concrete in thin squeegee coat applications, or gauge this product at 1/8 and use texture stamps that have NO grout-lines, such as a stone pattern.
Stone or Patterned Stamp: If your customer has chosen a pattern with grout lines you have two Super-Krete overlay products to choose from:
The Wet-On-Wet System is the original Super-Krete Stamp Overlay system. Stamp-Kote is produced as a Just Add Water product, but is applied as a two-part, two-step application system, as explained in Question #4 above. Stamp-Kotecannot be used as a stand-alone product such as Super-Stamp. Super-Stamp is designed to be applied directly to a concrete deck without using a bond coat or primer coat. Super-Stamp is produced as a Just Add Water and apply product.
The look of Super-Stamp and Stamp-KoteWet-On-Wet System are also different. Stamp-Kote will give you more of a smooth stamp look and Super-Stamp will give you a more natural stone look due to the bigger sands that are contained in the Super-Stamp.
NO! All Super-Krete products are designed to be used as Just Add Water products. Everything you need for your application is included within the bagged product. Each bag of Super-Krete contains an evenly blended mix of ingredients including incredibly strong and flexible bonding agents, sand and cement. The only item you need to add to each bag of material is clean water.
Pour the required amount of clean water in a clean 5 gallon pail, and add only the contents of your Super-Krete bag product. You will enjoy our easy-to-use products that make it far easier for you to train your crew to maintain consistency, which will reduce or eliminate errors in mixing. Just think, you can eliminate harder to use products that require multiple mixing procedures that have to be mixed to careful measured quantities, that may subject you to future delamination, or leave you with an application of different textures, inconsistent colors and inconsistent stamp impressions.
You will also enjoy Super-Krete products that you can rely on to provide you with a consistent look, a consistent finished texture, and you will come to appreciate the importance of consistent strength from bag to bag throughout your project.
NO! Color Stain is for use as a topical color only. If full depth color is desired, consider using theColor-Bond System. Color-Bond is available in 20 different colors and clear (for self-pigmentation), is an integrally colored cementititous surfacing system that has full depth color and can be applied from 1/8” to 1/4” in virtually any type of texture (stamped, textured, broom finish, knock down, vertical, etc.). TheColor-Bond Systemcan also be stained for enhanced appearance when dry.
NO!Ure-Kote is a paint that is designed for use over Super-KreteBond-Kote, Pool Texture, or other Super-Krete coatings. It is not recommended that Ure-Kote be applied directly to concrete because of the likelihood of moisture causing Ure-Kote (as with any paint) to delaminate. Using Super-Krete systems significantly reduces moisture vapor transmission, thus providing a treated substrate forUre-Koteto be applied to.
Please Note: Ure-Kote must be sealed with a Super-Krete sealer.
Super-Krete provides extensive expert training for our applicators, and we offer a System Certification for our trained applicators. Additionally, Super-Krete has several application systems that are eligible for a Limited 5 Year Warranty from delamination when applied by a Super-Krete Certified Applicator. One of the struggles every applicator faces in the competitive environment that we work in is your customers expecting a product that will last virtually forever, but is cheap. Less expensive would be a nice way to put that, but in reality, cheap is the operative word. Unfortunately, for everyone, those two concepts do not and cannot co-exist. If you are going to use a sealer that only will last 1 or 2 years, you will lose the colors. This is because as the sealer begins to break down, the sealer will start to allow ultraviolet rays and moisture to penetrate the surface and the UV and moisture will begin to attack and essentially destroy the pigment molecules, which results in color loss. The only insurance against this is to use a high quality Super-Krete sealer designed to withstand the elements. However, a regular maintenance schedule and regularly sealing the surface (as often as necessary, determined by traffic exposure to the surface) will maintain the luster and vibrancy of Color Stain colors.
Please be aware that some sealers are not designed to withstand the harsh treatment of automobile tires when driven on, and still other sealers are designed for vertical applications only. Super-Krete offers several different sealers with various sheens, durability, chemical resistance and life expectancy. To determine the appropriate sealer for your job, refer to Super-Krete's bulletin: Selecting the Right Sealer; or contact your Super-Krete Technical Service Representative.
In most cases the only thing that will happen is the overlay will dent and won't be noticeable. Yes, that is correct, dent. While most other products will chip or shatter, Super-Krete products have an added element of flexibility that virtually no other product line has. Super-Krete products will actually dent rather than chip which will help reduce your call-backs because of chipping issues. If full depth color is desired, consider using the Color-Bond System as a stampable overlay. The application will further protect your decorative coatings against scratches or nicks so they won't be noticeable.
Yes – Simply create a drier mix by using less water than you would with an overlay. This will yield a thicker consistency that will allow the product to be applied vertically without sludging. Start from the bottom and work your way up. Super-Krete Bond-Kote and Micro-Bond can also be sprayed onto vertical surfaces very easily. Determine the consistency that is right for your application by using more or less water in your mix.
YES! Please note that we do charge additional fees for this and the lead time is longer than ordering standard stocked product. Have your customer provide a physical color swatch for matching colors and call the Super-Krete office for pricing, availability, and lead-time.
No! Super-Krete is a complete overlay system that is designed to be applied over properly prepared and structurally sound concrete. This means that all existing coatings, paints, sealers and any other potential bond-breaker must be completely removed so that Super-Krete products can co-adhesively bond to the concrete. Do not apply Super-Krete over any other coatings. As with any coating the product can only be as good as what it is going over, and if the existing coating fails, anything bonded to it will do the same.
Your distributor may have specialized equipment you can rent to remove the existing coating.
You do not have to be certified to continue to install Super-Krete overlay products. We recommend that you do become certified, but it is not a requirement. Please remember, that in order to receive any warranty of any kind, you must become a Super-Krete Certified Applicator.
Training and product knowledge are vitally important to your success with Super-Krete products. So, we encourage you to attend our Training Seminars and to constantly update your product and technical knowledge by subscribing to the Super-Krete newsletter and visiting our website often for new information. Most importantly, maintain regular contact with your Technical Service Representative.
Super-Krete offers monthly training seminars to increase your knowledge of our products. Visit our Training Classes page for upcoming training dates.
That will depend on several issues:
the condition of the substrate,
what overlay products are used,
the difficulty of the overlay, municipal codes, job conditions, time of year, temperature and other environmental issues.
These are all factors that can affect the final price of a job. Training, not-on-the-job experience, is the best method for learning how to determine what you should charge for a job. Attend a Super-Krete Two-Day Training School where part of the training encompasses figuring job materials and consideration of factors that will ultimately determine the price for your job. Let us help you!
Call to register at 800-995-1716.
We have several options available which are determined by the stamp pattern you will use. For instance, a patterned stamp such as a Roman Ashlar Slate will require ¼” of material in order to leave a clean, visible impression. However, a seamless texture mat will only require 1/8” of material for the best results.
For this reason Super-Krete recommends the following products:
Note that the Super-Stampproduct contains larger sands and will leave the finished texture with a slight grit feeling to it and the Stamp-Kote application will yield a smoother finish.
NO! Always honor control/expansion joints. The control joint was created to allow movement of the concrete slab to prevent cracking. Covering the joints with any material will cause the overlay to crack, pop and likely delaminate.
When installing an overlay, protect the joints with strapping tape, coat over it, then remove the tape when the product is hard enough. Or, cut the joints back open to its original full-depth and then use a crack chaser with a " V " blade to open the joint back up.
Super-Krete does not recommend using integral color with Super-Krete products. Mainly because the iron oxide pigments (liquid or dry) can be inconsistent. The application instructions for the color on the color packaging are designed for use with concrete mixes, not overlay mixes; and they can affect the integrity of the overlay products if the dosages are excessive. If an integrally colored resurfacing product is desired, use the Color-Bond
System. Color-Bond
is available in 20 different colors and clear (for self-pigmentation), and
is an integrally colored cementititous surfacing system that has full
depth color and can be applied from 1/8” to 1/4” in virtually any type
of texture (stamped,
textured, broom finish,
knock down,
vertical, etc.). TheColor-Bond
Systemcan also be stained for enhanced appearance when dry.
Super-Krete recommends water-based Color Stains for every application. They are safer, non-toxic, non-reactive, and any color can be created with Super-Krete Color Stains. A standard selection of 16 colors is available, but any color your customer desires can be matched.
Absolutely not. The products should have ample time to cure, and allow for moisture release from the concrete so that you will not have delamination problems down the road. You must take into account elements of Mother Nature such as humidity, surface temperature, ambient temperatures, etc., as they are always changing and will affect the dry time of each product. Keep in mind that products should not be installed when surface and ambient temperatures are below 55 degrees F or exceed 100 degrees F. Trying to speed up the installation process will only create more work for you and your crew in the long run.
The porosity of the concrete to be coated must be sufficient enough to allow for co-adhesive bonding of the overlay to the substrate. To ensure that you have enough porosity, perform a simple “water test.”
Pour a cap full of water onto the surface. If the water penetrates, you likely have sufficient porosity. If the water puddles on the surface, it is a clear indication that the surface needs better porosity and has to be profiled. Be sure to perform this test throughout the entire area to be coated because porosity may vary throughout the slab.
All existing coatings (paints, sealers, waxes, glues, etc.) must be thoroughly and completely removed, and the surface must have an acceptable, open profile. A grinder is typically sufficient to use, but be sure to not grind to the point where the surface becomes smooth again. Shot-blasting is the recommended method to create an acceptable profile. This is especially important in industrial type applications where it is most likely that the concrete surface is too smooth to accept a coating.
Super-Krete does not recommend acid washing for several reasons. If the acid is not properly neutralized, it can continue to deteriorate the concrete over time, and eventually cause delamination of coatings that are applied. Acid washing requires special equipment for clean up and challenging disposal methods. Super-Krete prefers and recommends the environmentally friendly ways and means of surface profiling such as shotblasting with vacuums that are not hazardous to the environment and are non-toxic, and that will not deteriorate the concrete.
If for any reason you need to leave a stamp overlay job before it is complete, always end your seamless texture at a control joint. Do not stop stamping in the center of a slab because it will be difficult to hide the mistake. If you are using a stamp with a grout joint, clean your pattern up by using your trowel to cut along the material evenly and clean up any material that was not stamped before it hardens. Clearly mark the stamp so you know where to pick up the next day. To fix the mistake may be challenging, but apply as little material as possible to blend in the two sections.
A good way to practice your stamping techniques is by lining them up in a sand box!
Yes, but be sure to first even-out the surface with a skim/squeegee coat of Bond-Kote to fill in the low spots and create an even canvas for your stamp overlay.
Yes – but only if the proper surface preparation has been done. Refer to and follow Super-Krete Specification S-1 prior to installing any coating over any concrete substrate. The surface must be neutral in pH, profiled, cleaned and degreased and treated with Pene-Krete concrete treatment.
Yes, Super-Krete products are industrial grade and are used regularly on highways, bridges and other industrial areas. They are perfectly acceptable for use on driveways. However, be sure to use the appropriate sealer to resist hot tire pickup and to provide the easiest maintenance.
Yes, Super-Krete products are waterproof can be used around pools and water features. Proper surface preparation and sealing with the appropriate sealer will create long-lasting finishes in these types of applications. Contact a Super-Krete representative to help you determine which system is the best for your project.
Super-Krete has a number of sealers available for different applications and uses. The sealer you choose will depend upon factors such as expected traffic in the area and what type of look is desired. Using the wrong sealer or applying it improperly may ruin an otherwise flawless decorative installation. Super-Krete sealers are ideal for exterior surfaces because they are UV resistant, non-yellowing and they provide good protection against water and chloride intrusion. They also offer the same reliable protection for interior applications, and are food-grade safe. Only solvent based sealers should be used to protect vehicular traffic areas, where in many cases a strong water-based sealer is acceptable for the high volume foot traffic. To determine the sealer that is right for your job, click here or contact a Super-Krete Technical Service Representative.
TheS-9400 Pool Texture product does not require a bond coat or primer. It can be sprayed directly onto an existing (dry) surface after it has been properly prepared.
Note: Pool Texture is the only Super-Krete product that does not require pre-wetting of the surface to ensure adhesion.
In most cases, and especially with the lighter shades of Color Stain, it will be necessary to apply two coats of Color Stain. However, as with most applications, this will be determined by personal choice. Color Stains are not opaque like paints, they are translucent and the more applications you put down, the more solid the color gets.
The variegated look of the Knockdown Texture was achieved using Super-Krete Walnut Color Stain.Color Stain gives a much different look than Ure-Kote because Color Stain is a penetrating stain which offers a very distinct appearance due to the different absorption rates of the substrate, even when using Super-Krete overlays such as the Pool Texture, which is the product used for the Knockdown Texture finishes.
Top Sealer may be used on Clay-Type Tiles to waterproof the surface after it has been cleaned. Top Sealer will not change the appearance of the surface, and it is breathable, which means that air and water vapors can escape, but water cannot penetrate the surface.
Any of Super-Krete’s water-based sealers will provide protection of the surface as well as enhance the colors of the substrate.
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