Pavers sealed - oil stains on them now?

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

So we just had pavers installed in our patio and had them sealed as well. This was yesterday afternoon. Earlier tonight I grilled [charcoal grill] out on the new patio and I think some embers flew onto the pavers. It's also possible that some oil splattered on the pavers as well. Anyway, I hosed down the area that I had the grill around a little to clean up and it seems like the water has dried up. But now I'm seeing what appears to be oil stains - they don't quite look to be burn marks but is it possible that the embers melted the sealant and stained the pavers or that it's just dripped oil? The weird thing is that there are these 'oil stains' further away from where the grill was too, which makes me think it could be from the embers from when I was first starting the grill up.

Any ideas on what to do? We have cement cleaner and a brush but I'm scared that using it will scrub off the sealer. Is there a way to clean this off without jeopardizing the seal?

[jeromedawg]

I tried using dishwashing detergent, warm water, and a brush to scrub out the 'stains' but it didn't seem to make a difference. In fact, after hosing the suds away, I noticed that the stains are spread! On top of that, I got another part of the patio slightly wet, which wasn't previously wet, and am noticing these dark spots popping up after the water has dried.

Any ideas what's going on here?

[Greg]

Sounds like your washing got water under the sealer, and that the water has darkened the pavers under the sealer.  It should dry out but is a sign that the sealer is not perfect.

[jeromedawg]

Sounds like your washing got water under the sealer, and that the water has darkened the pavers under the sealer.  It should dry out but is a sign that the sealer is not perfect.

Yes, I realized after hosing down the rest of the patio that there are multiple dark spots showing up. I concluded that it isn't oil but is likely water that seeped into the pavers themselves... is that normal? Does it usually take longer than 24 hours for sealer to fully dry before water can get on them? I'll ask the contractor about all this - it doesn't seem right to me and I'm wondering if they need to apply a second coat of seal. In general, if this sort of spotting is seen, is it pretty much necessary to do another coat of sealer to prevent it? Or do we just have to live with the fact that it would never be perfect?

[jeromedawg]

I think they sprayed BP Pro sealer (and I'm pretty sure it's the non-wet/non-gloss look). Is it pretty common and normal to see wet spots after the patio gets wet even after it's sealed? I thought I read somewhere that sealers won't be 100% perfect in general but not sure if that's expected in all cases.

[soccerluvof4]

If the spots turn white then you have a whole other issue. A Lot of times when pavers are made if not mixed right the efflorescent comes out and this is most noticeable right after sealing. Never been a fan of sealing pavers. Keep extras around and if you need to replace one here and there so be it.