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I was dead wrong about adding color hardener to driveway mixes

For years I swore off color hardeners on residential driveways. I figured they were just an extra cost that homeowners would regret in a few years when the color started fading or getting patchy. Then last spring I did a job for a guy over in Maplewood who wanted a charcoal gray finish, he was insistent. I told him straight up I thought it was a waste of money but he had me do it anyway. We went with a brand called Butterfield and I followed the directions exactly, wet curing it with burlap for a full week. Eight months later and that driveway still looks even and solid, no weird spots or fading where the snow melted. I had to admit I was wrong about the whole thing. Has anyone else had a similar experience with something they were skeptical of turning out better than expected?

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hollym124mo ago

Honestly I get where you were coming from, I thought the same thing for ages too lol. It's so easy to assume something like that is just a gimmick or gonna look awful in a year. But sounds like that Butterfield stuff and your curing method really proved you wrong, which is pretty cool.

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kevin_roberts414mo ago

Guess I owe that guy an apology and maybe a free bag of color hardener if he ever needs a touch up. Turns out my expert opinion was worth about as much as the two bucks I charged him for it back then. I spent so many years being stubborn about it that I missed out on some clean looking work. Now I'm the guy telling other guys they might be wrong about color hardener, which feels a little weird given how sure I used to be. At least my wife gets a kick out of hearing me admit I was wrong about something for once.

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