14 April 2009

A revolutionary new sealer for stone

Check out this video for Nanoseal from Tekon Universal Sciences.


Nanoseal is a new product that uses a new technology to render all natural stone waterproof and impervious to stains. This product is for use on granite (which is already pretty stain-resistant), marble, travertine, limestone and anything else you can think of. Imagine, now you can make a shower enclosure out of travertine and never worry about what the water's doing to the stone. Amazing. 

This process also overrides any concerns anyone could ever have about marble. The thing I love most about it, it's living and moody nature, can be circumvented completely with a single Nanoseal treatment.

I have see this stuff live and that video is no exaggeration, Nanoseal delivers as promised.

Nanoseal uses nanometer-sized particles that bond with virtually any surface. These carbon-based nanoparticles form a covalent bond with the targeted surface that cannot be broken. Keep in mind that a nanometer is a billionth of a meter, so all of this happens on the molecular and atomic level. These nano particles bond and organize themselves in a single layer and this layer is so thin that it doesn't change the appearance of the material being sealed. 

Stains on stone happen when a material gets lodged in the incredibly tiny pits and fissures that make up the surfaces of most counter materials. These nano particles effectively fill in those pits and fissures, so nothing can get in there in the first place. As a side note, this new nano surface treatment prevents not only stains from getting a foothold, mold and bacteria can't attach to it either. Fascinating and a real case of better living through modern chemistry. Nanoseal is available from most natural stone fabricators and it can be applied to existing counters, floors and walls as readily as it can new ones. Call your granite fabricator and ask about it.

19 comments:

  1. Paul, this is impressive. What a chemical break-through. Thanks for sharing it.

    It reminds me of the liquid product called Rain-away that you can apply on car wind-shields.
    -Brenda-

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  2. Brenda,

    That's an interesting point. My first-hand experience with Nano goes back to January of this year. I did a kitchen renovation and used Carerra marble for the counters and a large table top. I wrote about my table here in early January. Anyhow, the clients on this job had everything nanosealed and the effect is remarkable. I dribbled red wine on their table after it had been nano-d and the wine beaded up and floated around. The wine reminded me of how mercury behaves when it's spilled. The guys were so impressed with it that they bought an additional bottle of the sealer and they sealed their glass shower enclosure with it. When I asked how it behaved on glass, their response was "Rain-X on steroids." Their experience made believers out of them and a zealot out of me.

    Thanks again for your comment Brenda!

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  3. Paul, good to know that the product also works on glass. Perfect for European (glass style) Shower Enclosures!

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  4. My clients have a frameless, two-sided glass enclosure where they applied it. I think there's a photo of it in my portfolio on my Facebook profile. Are you a Facebooker?

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  5. I'm in the middle of a kitchen and bath renovation and I would love to use this product. Will my granite guy know what this is if I just say "nanoseal"?

    Do they have a website?

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  6. He ought to, but it depends on where you ar ein the country. Finding consumer information on this stuff is a real character builder though. It's marketed to the stone and tile trade exclusively, though there are a number of businesses popping up all over the place who do it as their sole business. Just Google "nanoseal + (your area) and you'll find somebody, several somebodies more than likely.

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  7. NO....I am NOT a facebooker! Was a RMS Groupie and now am a Blogging one.

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  8. I resisted social media for years too, but resistance is futile I'm finding.

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  9. Thanks for the reply. I'm in Los Angeles so I should be ok. I hope.

    ...and I just noticed the website at the top of the page. Doh!

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  10. Will this work as a grout and tile sealer Paul?

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  11. Even that's pretty vague. All the information I got on the chemistry of the stuff came from a website operated by a stone yard in Idaho. Advanced Stone System's site is here: http://www.advancedgranitesystems.com/products.html

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  12. And yes, this material will work great as a grout sealer too. It's a pretty spendy process, so be warned.

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  13. I am definitely getting this.

    I keep coming over to see who won your contest and then get distracted and forget to check...

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  14. My contest winner submitted a work of such staggering genius I'm still wrapping my head around her entry. Man! But I have another contest coming up and I'm announcing it on Thursday morning. This one won't require so much work to enter, I promise.

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  15. Thanks for sharing a great resource!

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  16. Thanks for the glowing recommendation on Twitter! Cutting Edge in Largo is using Nano as an upgrade on all of their tops now. They're the first local fabricators I've seen with it. I'm sure there are others though. Right?

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  17. I have been nano indoctrinating all my clients for two years now since my granite guy found out about it. The Easy Clean guys from San Diego gave us a demonstration and that's it. It really is the best thing you can do for your counters, tile, stainless, floors. Love, love, love this product! If you live in Southern Calif. ask for Chris with Easy Clean, San Diego. Excellent company.

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  18. This looks great, but I've got a few questions.

    1. How well does it work on marks that have been left to dry for a while vs just landed, as in the demo?

    2. Does it protect the surface from etching as well as staining?

    3. Is there any change of color of the surface when it's applied?

    4. Is the stuff green, and if so-considered, then by what standards?

    5. Does anyone know what it's actually made of chemically? I requested an MSDS from a fabric company on their nanosealant, and they wouldn't disclose the information. Without that, how do we know how toxic the product may be?

    6. Can it be transfered to human skin or penetrate it, and if so, what effects on health might it have? Again, we're back to the MSDS information. We need to know the parameters for safe use of any product.

    Wendy

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  19. Fantastic questions Wendy. Here's what I know.

    Nano sealers are not cleaners and they get applied at the time of installation. They can also be applied after the fact, but only after a thorough cleaning of the surface to be treated. A nanosealer cannot remove stains and doesn't purport to. It is a pre-treatment. Once it's on though, the surface pretty much can't be stained.

    It doesn't protect surfaces like marble from etching per se, although it does delay the process. Nanosealers will keep an acidic liquid away for the surface for a short period of time, though that liquid may work its way through the sealer and then etch if given enough time.

    They don't change the color or texture of what they're applied to. I have used a nanoseal on a frameless, clear glass shower enclosure and it works beautifully. You cannot tell the glass has been treated until water hits it. The stuff's like Rain-X on steroids when it's applied to glass.

    There's really nothing in it that wouldn't be considered "green." The chemistry of it is really basic.

    Nanosealers are made from either nano tubes or nanospheres of carbon suspended in a volatile liquid for application. The liquid is usually alcohol or acetate, depending on the brand. The sealer gets sprayed on, the liquid evaporates and what's left is a layer of carbon molecules that arrange themselves in a matrix. These sealers are biomimics, they behave the way the surfaces of lotus leaves do. That's what inspired their development, that a lotus leaf can't get wet.

    Considering that all life on earth is carbon-based, I cannot imagine that these sealers can pose any kind of a threat.

    The manufacturers are skittish about disclosures because of a general fear in people about chemistry, I say. It's no excuse for being closed lipped about their products, but I understand why. I have never had someone involved in the sale or application of these sealers adequately explain what they are. What I know about them I dug around to get until I spoke with a chemist at the company who makes Nanoseal.

    Nanosealers are a huge leap forward from the polyurethanes that have been the standard for so long. Polyurethanes aren't benign and they aren't inert.

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