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Question: “I applied Thompson’s clear water seal for wood to my stamped concrete steps and sidewalk today by mistake. Can I try power washing it before it dries?? Anything else I can try?”
Thompson’s 
WaterSeal is made for protecting outdoor surfaces from rain and other wet conditions, but most of their products are made for wood. It is easy to get some of it onto surrounding surfaces accidentally when applying it or grab the wrong kind when you wanted the multi-surface version. Here’s how to remove the wood sealant from your sidewalk or other concrete surface.
You Will Need:
- Mineral spirits
- Concentrated degreaser
- A scrub brush
- A wire brush
- Concrete etcher
- A hose
Steps to Remove the Sealant:
- To use mineral spirits, wipe the spirits over the area with a cloth. Let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub the area with a scrub brush.
- To use a concentrated degreaser, follow the instructions on the label of your selected product. Some good choices for this are Krud Kutter or Simple Green. Use a scrub brush to increase the effectiveness of the degreaser.
- If the scrub brush is not strong enough, you can use a wire brush instead.
- Thoroughly rinse the area after scrubbing to remove the residue from the sealant and cleaner.
- If the mineral spirits or general degreaser doesn’t work, you can use a concrete etcher, such as Krud Kutter Clean & Etch or Quikrete Cleaner, Etcher and Degreaser. Follow the instructions on the label of your selected product.
Additional Tips:
- Always wear gloves when working with strong chemicals and read the labels to find any other safety precautions that may be needed.
- Another option is to sand off the sealant either by hand with sandpaper or by using an electric sander. Be sure that the sealant has dried first before sanding.
- If you have a pressure washer, another option is to use a sandblast kit to sandblast the concrete and remove the sealant.
- If you want to use a Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofer on your concrete, use the Multi-Surface version.
Sources:
- The Cleaning Encyclopedia by Don Aslett
- Ultimate Guide to Masonry and Concrete by Creative Homeowner
How can I remove 5 minute fence stain from a painted house and the surrounding concrete? Thanks.
Patty,
The best way to deal with it would have been to rinse off the areas as soon as the stain got on them. Removing it now may be more difficult, especially on another painted surface. The 5-Minute Fence Stain is a water-based acrylic paint. If your house is also painted with water-based acrylic paint, you can try to very carefully remove the stain, but you may end up needing to repaint instead. To try removing the stain, you can try either a Magic Eraser or Acetone (nail polish remover). Test the products on a small hidden area of the house that does not have any of the fence stain on it so you can see how they react with the house paint. If they are safe for the house paint, try using them to remove the fence stain. If those don’t work, you may need a stronger cleaner like paint thinner, but that is more likely to remove the house paint as well. Always worth a try though, just rub the surface very lightly with a cloth dipped in the paint thinner to try to only take off the stain (wear gloves) and rinse the area with water as soon as the stain is transferred to the cloth. Work in small sections at a time. Good luck!
For the concrete, you can use this guide: How to Clean Acrylic Paint from Concrete.
Source: 5-Minute Fence Stain – How It Works
Source: HowToCleanStuff.net – How to Remove Water Based Paint from Appliances
I put Thompsons clear water seal on my concete walkway and it is all spoted, dark areas. I cannot remove the sealer with a power washer; how can I remove sealer? What is a sand blast kit?
James,
A sand blast kit is an attachment that fits onto a pressure washer, allowing you to spray sand along with the water for greated abrasive action. They can be purchased at most major hardware stores. You can also use a combination of theabove methods, such as by applying the mineral spirits, letting it soak, then using the pressure washer to remove the loosened sealant. Good luck!
Source: YouTube – Vortexx Pressure Wshers – Sandblast Kit
I had sealer applied by a professional to my driveway, Thompsons. It turned white. What do I do?
Hi Jackie,
Since the sealer was applied by a professional, it would be best to talk with them about it as they are responsible. However, if you want to remove the sealer yourself, you can use the method in this guide. (You can also give this guide to the professional if they need to know how to remove the sealer; that way you won’t have to do it.) Removing the sealer from the entire driveway will be a task, so it would be easiest to use the method mentioned in the additional tips section: sandblasting with a pressure washer. Pressure washers (and the sand kit) can usually be rented from major hardware stores. Good luck!
Stay away of this sealer. I tried it twice. Boy was I stupid.
My neighbor has put a stain on her front concrete porch, and went to Lowes and asked for a sealer; they sold her Thompson water sealer. She put the Thompson’s over the concrete stain and it hasn’t dried. Will it dry or does she need to do something else? Thanks for your help.