Wacker has introduced a topical, clear hydrophobic and oleophobic sealer. Marketed under the trademark Silres BS 26 A, this versatile water-based environmentally-friendly product is designed to be highly effective in kitchen and bath applications as well as for landscaping and decorative stone. Silres BS 26 A provides a long lasting water and oil repellency once the sealer has sufficiently cured.

According to Wacker, food staining and moisture can do irreparable damage to tile, grout, cement and natural and artificial stone products. Silres BS 26 A locks out stains and water with a UV stable, non-film forming product based on silicone chemistry. Silres BS 26 A is intended for interior and exterior applications on vertical and horizontal surfaces.

Silres BS 26 A, which Wacker describes as a new and more cost effective and environmentally friendly chemistry, supersedes and replaces an existing product, Silres BS 29 A, which is based on C8 flurochemistry and will be phased out during 2015. Laboratory tests show that Silres BS 26 A resists food stains 16% better while providing greater value than the product it replaces. Silres BS 26 A is extremely well-suited for use on substrates with small to medium size pores such as marble, granite, unglazed tiles and polished cements. In the case of larger pore substrates like porous limestone and most cementitious products, better protection may be offered by applying Wacker’s Silres BS 33 A. Utilizing these two companion products may reduce the number of finished products required to treat the wide variety of substrates used in this decorative market.