Bluestone Sealer: Protects Your Home from Stains for 10 Years or More

What is bluestone?

Bluestone is the name given to a range of rocks with an attractive blue-grey colour.

In South Australia, most bluestone is slate.

In Victoria, bluestone is a kind of basalt–volcanic rock. A feature of this bluestone that many architects love is the ‘cats-paw’ effect found in around 20% of the rock. Holes left by hot gas bubbles during the formation of the rock look like the tracks of cats’ paws. Bluestone also sometimes has rust-coloured markings from natural material formed into the rock. When caring for your bluestone, remember these aren’t actually rusted!

Bluestone was used extensively as a building material in Melbourne and Victoria during the Gold Rush. It’s a hard, durable stone – maybe that’s one reason it was used for Pentridge Prison. Nowadays bluestone tiles are used for paths, pool surrounds, steps, entry areas, and floors.

Best Sealer for Bluestone 

Caring for your bluestone

Bluestone is naturally porous, so tiles and pavers may suffer from water pooling, especially near pools or taps, or in outdoor areas without cover. This pooling can cause stains or splotches of a different colour, or it may even lift the stone slightly so your surface becomes uneven.

Efflorescence can also be an issue. This happens when water in the stone dissolves mineral salts but then dries out. The dried salts appear on the surface as a white powder. You can wash the powder away, but it’s better to seal the water out of the bluestone so you don’t get efflorescence in the first place!

Bluestone is also at risk from oily stains. This can be a challenge near barbeque areas where fat splatters. Food spills in dining areas can also stain – for example, salad dressings. If you have a bluestone driveway, watch out for oil or petrol spills from your car too.

If there’s any risk of exposure to water or oils, we recommend applying a bluestone sealer as soon as possible after laying to protect the appearance of the stone.

We offer two options for sealing bluestone. Elite Guard will protect your bluestone for up to ten years, while Elite Shield is our premium bluestone sealer option and lasts for up to 15 years, providing maximum protection.

When applying bluestone sealer, you will need to apply two coats as the stone is very porous. One litre of Elite Shield or Elite Guard will cover 7 square metres on the first coat and 12 square metres on the second coat. Both products come in a range of sizes to suit your project.

Make sure your bluestone is clean before applying sealer

If your bluestone isn’t newly laid, you may need to clean it before you seal it. Be careful with acid treatments as you may bleach the stone and cause further damage. We recommend our PH neutral stone cleaner as a gentle way to remove existing stains.