FAQ – Flexlock Dust

Yes

It is not intended to be used on walls but for small areas you can Mix the Gator Dust / Sand with water to about the consistency of cookie dough. Mist the vertical joint with water and trowel the mixed dust/sand into the joint. When doing this you have about 20 minutes open time before the material becomes unmanageable

If the Sand or Dust is properly cured the de-icing salt will not hurt it.

This will depend how long ago that it was first activated. Let your sprinkler run on it for about 1 hour. If there is a crust on the top of the sand or dust make small holes in the joints in order to allow the water to seep in. If it doesn’t harden after a few days of good weather you will have to remove the sand/dust and redo it.

Our product contains oil-based polymers (synthetic) that are more durable and have better erosion resistance than organics. Our polymeric sands and Flexlock Dust do not contain any cement.

As long as it is dry, it can be driven or walked on in 24 hours.

For Flexlock polymeric sand and Dust – If the proper installation procedure is followed in terms of paver installation according to the ICPI and the Polymeric Sand installation according to Flexlock, then 10 years. The area needs to be maintained and cleaned from time to time dirt should not be allowed to accumulate on the joints.

You will need to be patient and give it time to dry out in order to evaluate, if it has not washed out of the joint and is hardening everything will probably be all right
Note: in our instructions we recommend 24 hours no rain.

It needs to be installed the full depth of the paver or stone.

Normally a pressure washer – if the moss or mildew has been there for a long time it may have damaged the sand– Remove the damaged sand where it can be readily removed using the pressure washer, allow the area to dry and replace missing sand and activate as per our directions. Note: Use the Flexlock M3 product as part of your home maintenance program. It will help prevent the growth of Moss, Mold & Mildew from returning.

The material should not be walked on, or driven on – it needs to be protected by the stone or paver so that it does not become damaged.

No. We have not done any testing on adding any colorant. We do not recommend doing this because the color additive might not be compatible with our Polymeric Sand. The colorant may also stain your pavers or stone. The color of our sand and dust are the natural color of the aggregate in the product.

Yes but it needs to be carefully activated with water – because with a thin layer of sand the glue Can be easily washed away – experimentation on watering is necessary test first. Do a small test Area to determine if the results are to your satisfaction.

Hard means that the area is dry – soft means that the area is still damp or wet. The reason is that some areas that are staying wet because they are not draining as fast, as the dry areas.

Note: Polymeric sand is not a mortar and it is designed to transition from hard and dry to soft when wet, this is how it is able to be self-healing.

No this is very bad to do; it will cause the joint surface to peel and to flake off and voids any warranty.

Strongest and hardest are not necessarily the most important requirements of polymeric sand. Polymeric sand is not measured by strength there is no official test for the strength test for polymeric sand. If a polymeric sand is too hard, it can also be too brittle causing cracking from ground movement. Our Flexlock Ultra Sand are our most resilient. Note: Polymeric sand is intended to be a cohesive joint material and do three things: help prevent weeds, insects and erosion.

White residue can be efflorescence, caused from wetting the pavers to activate the sand – it can also be from the polymer residue that was not properly cleaned off. Note: If the Polymeric Sand is installed on wet pavers, you will have a white residue on the paver surface. This is because the polymers are reacting and dissolving and sticking to the wet paver surface.
Note: Whether you are dealing with efflorescence from the pavers or residual polymers on the surface, A good cleaning with Flexlock Efflorescence cleaner should remove either from the surface. If the Efflorescence is especially bad, repeat applications may be necessary. If there are physical sand Particles left on the surface, they will require a pressure washer to remove before the efflorescence Cleaning. None of Flexlock polymeric sands contain any cement therefore will not cause any Permanent stain.

Caution must be taken when applying the sand to clay paver joints. Clay pavers are more porous and can still be damp when they appear dry. Note: be aware that cleaning the entire project with Flexlock Efflorescence cleaner after the sand has set may be necessary.

Flexlock Dust – is engineered to be installed at temperatures above 59 F. If installed at lower temperatures it may never set up and be weak and not function as it is intend to.

This is a normal condition, the crust acts like a protective layer that is on top of the densely packed polymeric sand or Flexlock Dust, this flexible crust is spanning from one paver chamfer to another. This crust allows for some movement, much like a hinge. Making these products ideal in freeze thaw conditions.

Usually it means that there is still water in the product – if the sand does not dry, it will not harden properly.

Polymeric sand cannot be installed in pavers placed on stone dust. Stone dust traps and retains moisture which causes polymeric sand to fail. A paver installation should be performed to ICPI specifications, i.e., installed over 1 inch of bedding sand, which will allow proper drainage and a successful polymeric sand installation. If you insist on installing over stone dust then the Flexlock Ultra Sand is the product to use.

We do not recommend doing this – we recommend that the entire joint depth be filled with our sand or stone dust product in order to ensure that you have a successful installation. Without a firm densely packed base, water and ice can work their way into the joint and cause the material on top to fail. It is also next to impossible to evenly fill up half a joint with one material – you will have some areas halfway and some areas where they are 7/8 of the way full. We refer to this as topping, this can cause the sand to fail and come out of the joint. Furthermore doing this is also a false economy as the work in attempting this procedure this will greatly outweigh any anticipated savings in material.

Flexlock Dust is not intended for vehicular traffic – it does not have the compressive strength to resist the tremendous loads placed on the joint, by a vehicle. Use Eurostone Bond Polymeric Sand.

Flexlock manufactures the only product on the market approved for use over existing concrete – Flexlock Ultra Sand. This product is less permeable to water and specifically engineered to shed water. Flexlock Ultra Sand can be installed on non-drainage bases and on conventional drainage bases.

If Flexlock Dust forms a thin crust it was under-watered during its initial activation, or the temperature was below 59° F. Flexlock Dust requires a fine mist then two successively heavier soakings until water ponds in the joints and is allowed to soak in and activate to a proper depth of material. Never allow the surface of the stone or paver to dry in between the three applications of water.

Both the sand and the stone dust should be watered 3 times, starting with a fine mist and progressing on to heavier watering using a rinsing action until water begins to accumulate on the surface. On a hot day more water may be necessary as surface evaporation dries the water before it can penetrate the product. Please refer to our instructions and video.

Call us at 1-866-212-1611 we will be glad to assist you.