Is there a matte or natural-look paver sealer?

Techniseal's Product Guide prints a finish for each paver Protector: Matte for the (iN) Natural Look Protector and Satin for the (EV) Satin Look Protector. ICPI's word for the acrylic family is gloss. One warning before the details: two Techniseal products carry the words natural look and print opposite slip lines.

The (iN) listing describes itself in the guide's own words, “Preserves the natural look of pavers,” and lists the product as penetrating and water-based. The finish term itself is defined under natural look.

The (EV) listing is a separate product with its own finish word, and what that word means is under satin finish.

Matte does not only come from penetrating sealers.

SEK-Surebond's SB-1300 “is milky white when applied and dries clear with matte finish,” and the maker says it “will lock in its clean natural look.” Techniseal's Natural Look (NS) Protector, an acrylic film-forming sealer, is likewise “milky white in its container and will become clear once dry.”

So a natural-look paver sealer can be a penetrating product or a film-forming one, and the finish word alone does not say which.

The shared words hide a difference that matters around water.

Techniseal's (iN) Natural Look Protector is printed as “Penetrating: Will not make surfaces more slippery”. Its Natural Look (NS) Protector data sheet says “This product will make the surface more slippery when wet,” and names the (iN) as an alternative, noting that the (iN) is not a joint stabilizer.

Any line that says a brand's natural-look sealer is not slippery has merged two products; the code in parentheses is what separates them. Where slipping is a concern, the NS sheet points to adding Techniseal's Surefoot Anti-Slip Grit, and grip additives are covered under anti-slip additives on a sealed pool deck.

At the other end of the scale sits the wet look.

Techniseal explains its wet-look line to installers with a single question: “Ask your customers if they like their pavers when they are wet.” ICPI lines the finishes up the same way, with some sealers adding a glossy sheen or wet look and others giving some color enhancement with a low sheen or a flat finish.

Choosing between the two for a given surface is covered under paver sealing, wet look or natural look, and how much darker pavers read once a sealer goes on is under will sealing make pavers darker.

A matte label promises a low sheen, not an untouched color.

ICPI writes that silanes and siloxanes give a flat finish and suit exterior areas where a glossy surface is not desired, and that they still initially enhance paver colors. Techniseal's word for its Protectors, microporous, describes how moisture moves through them, a separate property from how they look.

A sealed surface can also read darker when it is wet than when it is dry, a separate effect covered under why sealed pavers look darker when wet.

Neither maker asks a buyer to trust the finish word alone.

Techniseal and SEK-Surebond both write a trial on a small, out-of-sight area into their instructions, and what that step shows before a whole surface is sealed is set out under a color test before paver sealing.

Whether a matte product suits a particular driveway or pool deck is a question ICPI sends to the sealer's manufacturer or supplier.