Any reason to seal concrete in my shop?

I'm building a pole barn that will be used as a shop. The concrete was poured last week. Part will be walled off for a woodworking shop, part for a machine/welding area, and the rest will be for RV storage with one bay for a 4-post lift for vehicle maintenance. The crew that poured the slab recommended a penetrating sealer to protect against salt. Since the RV will never see salt and I won't be pulling vehicles in and out in the winter is there any reason to seal the concrete? How about a densifier?

I will never have non-sealed concrete. The sealant helps keep the dust down. I'd see the "vendor" section for the right product, there are great options less expensive than polyurea or epoxy.

You've got a lift.. Something is gonna spill eventually.

Epoxy. If you apply sealant, you will never be able to epoxy over it. I am currently living with the previous owner's decision to seal the barn concrete, and the epoxy that I applied over it has pretty much no adhesion. Looks like he##.

I seal mine to help prevent staining.

Punkinhead said:

I'm building a pole barn that will be used as a shop. The concrete was poured last week. Part will be walled off for a woodworking shop, part for a machine/welding area, and the rest will be for RV storage with one bay for a 4-post lift for vehicle maintenance. The crew that poured the slab recommended a penetrating sealer to protect against salt. Since the RV will never see salt and I won't be pulling vehicles in and out in the winter is there any reason to seal the concrete? How about a densifier?

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The previous response is spot on Just so that you are aware, a densifier reacts with the concrete to make it denser and harder at the surface. While this helps with wear and tear, it does not actually repel moisture or seal the surface as a typical concrete sealer does.

A great all-purpose concrete sealer would be a 2-in-1 product, which is a densifier with a siliconate sealer added. We highly recommend PS104 by Concrete Sealers USA. It will densify your concrete surface while also providing moisture protection. You can find it here: https://shrsl.com/4vf8i

We also have a video below that explains how it works and why we like it so much as a general-purpose sealer.


If you want a sealer that also helps to repel oil and reduce staining, then an oil-repelling sealer such as GhostShield 8510 or Concrete Sealers USA PS100 would be a good choice. You can learn more about them below.