In the waterproofing trade, Xylene serves several key purposes:
Surface Preparation & Cleaning: Xylene's high solvency power makes it effective at removing oils, grease, adhesive residue, dirt and old coatings from concrete and other sus=bstrates before waterproofing is applied - critical for effective and long term adhsion.
Reactivating Cured Membranes: When adding a new coat over an existing cured solvent-based membrane, Xylene can soften and reactivate the surface to improve inter-coat bonding - essentially creating a chemical key between layers.
Fixing Sealer Defects: If a concrete sealer has gone milky, bubbly or dull, flooding the surface with Xylene re-melts the acrylic film, allowing it to re-level and cure clear again - a common remediation technique without adding extra solids.
Equipment Cleanup: It's a standard wash-out solvent for brushes, rollers, spray guns, and mixing equipment used with solvent-based products.
Product dilution and thinning when necessary:Xylene is the carrier solvent in many solvent based acrylic sealers and polyurethane membranes. It reduces viscosity to make products easier to apply by brush, roller or spray. We do however advise against thinning any waterproof membranes beyond specification, as over-dilution weakens performance and voids product warranties.
