Is urethane a good brick floor sealer?

by Terry
(Baton Rouge, La.)

Q. I desire to place urethane sealer on old Chicago brick kitchen floor previously sealed with Behr 986 acrylic water based sealer. Will there be an issue with solvent based urethane sealer? If I wipe brick off with xylene will that suffice to use? Is there a water based urethane as durable as solvent? Is there a water based urethane sealer that would provide as durable of finish under these circumstances? Which products do you advise using?

A. Applying a solvent based sealer or coating over a water based sealer isn't a good idea. The solvents can soften the water based sealer and damage both coatings. You'll have to strip the water based sealer off the bricks if you want to apply a solvent based urethane coating. Behr makes a concrete & masonry paint stripper No.992 you can use. Check with their support team to make sure it will completely remove all the sealer.

Concrete coatings Inc. makes both water and solvent based urethane sealers. They have a good support team and you can purchase directly from them. Contact them directly and explain your situation, they can instruct you on the best product for your brick floor.