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Waterproofing and damp problems are our speciality.
This is how easy the waterproofing application is with Steel Chemicals Stone Water Guard SWG.
Is Stone Water Guard SWG safe and easy to handle?
Yes. SWG is not a hazardous product. It is a very slight irritant and it is safe to handle.
You should rinse your skin with clean cold water if you spill it on yourself of splash yourself with it.
We recommend that you wear safety glasses when you apply SWG with low-pressure spray apparatus to prevent atomised spray from entering your eyes. A simple rinse with an eye bath will remove any SWG without any lasting effects.
How do you apply SWG to the surface to be waterproofed?
WE recommend application with a low-pressure spray or using a paint brush. The SWG should be applied as a single coat. You should be looking to flood-coat the product on the surface.
We find the spray method is more effective and ensures that the SWG coating penetrates all of the nooks and crannies on the surface as well as effectively coating the insides of small cracks.
We recommend that application to walls should start at the bottom and that you should work up the wall in square meter segments. Any run-off will run down onto a previously treated section.
The surface you are treating should be dry before the application of the SWG. It should also be clean of any organic matter. Any obvious large cracks over 3mm should be repaired and allowed to cure before the coating is applied.
What happens when you apply SWG?
SWG is a water-based waterproofer. When you apply the coat to the stone surface it will have the effect of wetting it with water. The surface will turn darker as it wettens and the product will start to run down the face of the stone as the surface is SWG flooded.
The water base of the SWG will penetrate into the surface of the stone, brick, render or mortar joints to different depths dependent on the porosity of the surface. The water base carries the waterproofer into the surface and deposits it when the SWG stops moving.
Penetration can be as deep as more than 1cm in sandstone, old brick and most mortar joints. Penetration can be as little as 1mm in denser marble, slate and granite. The penetration and product usage will vary significantly dependant on the surface being treated.
It follows that the more porous the surface - the deeper the protection that is needed.
Once the application has been completed the water base of the SWG will start to evaporate and the surface will return to its original colour.
The waterproofer will remain in the surface and will fuse chemically to the stone surface as soon as oxygen finds its way into the face of the stone.
The waterproofer will fuse onto the face of the stone and the internal surfaces of the capillaries in the stone. The waterproofer reduces the capillary size in the stone to below 0.6mm which is effectively too small for water molecules to pass through. SWG does not completely block the stone capillaries like most silicone stone surface treatments and still allows water vapour to pass through the coating.
So you now have a water barrier capable of taking 8bar negative pressure which is also vapour permeable. Your wall will not let water in but it will allow water vapor out, effectively drying the wall of residual moisture.
What is the result?
The water base will take a short time to evaporate. This will vary according to the air temperature.
Our experience is that it can take up to twelve hours in the winter and as little as two hours in the summer. It is vital to keep the treated surface protected from rain during the drying out process.
The coating will cure to an invisible, fully water-repellent coating over a further day leaving the surface with its original colour and texture.
SWG becomes a part of the surface.
Once the application is complete the SWG will have become a deeply penetrated part of the stone surface which will remain in-situe and active for decades.
Unlike other silicone based surface treatments SWG has now become a part of the wall and will not be degraded by acids (acid rain corrosion), alkalis or ultra-violet light.
So SWG is:
* Safe to use
* Easy to apply
* A very efficient waterproofer
* Not a vapour barrier
* Long lasting
Technical certificates,
videos and pictures at
Stone Water-Guard
Contact Details
Steel Chemicals
Stone Protection Services
Westfield Lane
Draycott
Cheddar
Somerset
BS27 3TP
Tel : 07748 635982
Email : steel.chemicals@aol.com
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