curing time managemen

So, you've got a crack. The water's a slow, annoying weep, not a gushing flood. You're handy, you've watched the videos, and you're ready to tackle this with a DIY grout kit. This isn't about complicated chemistry; it's about the practical reality of making that syringe or cartridge work. This is the guide for the confident beginner who knows that success is in the details the pros take for granted. Pre-Game: The Make-or-Break Setup (The Real First Step) Read the Data Sheet. Really. The cure time, the working temperature, the mixing ratio—it’s not fine print; it’s the rulebook. Your product won’t work in a 50°F garage if it needs 65°F to cure. Assemble Your "Surgical" Kit: Beyond the injection gun, you need: a wire brush, a shop vac, a bucket of soapy water, rags, a utility knife, and a pack of disposable nitrile gloves. Cleanliness is your secret weapon. The Port Puzzle: The little plastic nozzles you screw into the holes? They’re called "ports" or "injection points." Their placement is everything. Don't just stick them on the crack. Use a hammer drill to make a hole that angles down into the crack's center. The port should act like a faucet into the crack, not just sit on top of it. Space them every 6-12 inches. The Injection: It’s a Feel, Not Just a Squeeze Start at the Bottom. Water flows down. Your grout should flow up against gravity to fill from the base. Begin with the lowest port. The "Resistance" Rule. Push the plunger slowly. You're not filling a void in air; you're filling a crack in dense concrete. You should feel steady resistance. If it's too easy, the grout is going somewhere else (maybe a void, maybe out another crack). If it's impossibly hard, you might be clogged. Watch the Neighbors. As you inject Port A, keep your eyes on Ports B and C. When you see a bead of fresh, creamy grout start to ooze out of the next port, stop injecting Port A immediately. Cap Port A and move to Port B. That ooze is your signal: the crack is filled between those points. Patience is the Final Ingredient. You see the leak stop. Victory! But don't touch it. That surface skin might set in minutes, but the core takes hours. Respect the full cure time before you walk on it, paint it, or declare the war won.