Natural look

Techniseal alone sells two protectors under a natural-look name, and they are not built the same way.

In the maker's product guide, the (iN) Natural Look Protector preserves the natural look of pavers, is penetrating, will not make surfaces more slippery, is water-based and is labeled Matte. The Natural Look (NS) Protector also preserves the original look of pavers, but its data sheet says it is made of acrylic and forms a protective film, the same kind of film-forming chemistry that sits behind a glossy wet look. One maker, one finish name, two ways of working: natural look describes how the surface ends up looking, not what the sealer is made of.

A second maker uses the same words on a product whose chemistry its data sheet states outright.

SEK-Surebond names SB-1300 a natural look, matte finish joint stabilizing sealer, says it is milky white when applied and dries clear with a matte finish, and says it will lock in a clean natural look. The same sheet describes SB-1300 as a water-based, single component, acrylic co-polymer sealer and joint sand stabilizer, and calls it breathable. The natural-look label sits on an acrylic here as well, which is why the finish name alone does not settle the chemistry. Whether a matte or natural-look sealer is available as a choice at all is answered at is there a matte or natural-look paver sealer.

ICPI does not use the phrase natural look, but it does describe the finish in its own terms.

Silanes and siloxanes, ICPI writes, initially enhance colors and produce a flat, no-gloss finish on the paver surface, and other sealers offer some color enhancement with a low sheen or a flat finish. Those are the institute's words for the result the makers label Matte, whichever chemistry produces it. The penetrating pair has its own entry at silane and siloxane, the finish Techniseal labels between its Gloss and Matte is at satin finish, and the flat and glossy families are set side by side in the paver cleaning page's sealing section.