What is this surface and can I seal/smooth it?

[jnazel]

Hello. Not overly familiar with outdoor diy projecs, or what to call this. I have a patio, and it's made of this gravely stone. It's sandy brown colored over all. And they feel pretty awful to walk on.

Two questions:
1) Can I seal this up? See in the image how it has cross sections. I'm curious if I could put a good sealant on that to prevent all the summer weeds from coming in.

2) Can I put some kind of self-leveling compound for outdoor weather that makes this a smooth surface?

I'm honestly now sure why anyone would choose to have a patio made of this.

 

[Snoonyb]

Welcome.
Well there are two possibilities and I'd lean toward the 2nd.
Exposed aggregate, but I've never poured one that looked like that.
An epoxy over coat.
Depending upon the width of the cracks you could grout them, or a quality defoliator.
There are a number of masonry sealers which will over time fill and smooth the surface.The downside is that once you start, it's a never ending process.

 

[slownsteady]

Looks like concrete with exposed aggregate. Makes for pretty good traction and provides a place for water to drain off instead of puddling. You could trowel cement over it to hide the stones. Possibly use a self-leveling cement if you can dam the perimeter. Or perhaps a nice outdoor area rug.

 

[nealtw]

You could do an overlay
https://www.concreteconstruction.ne...crete-surfaces/decorative-concrete-overlays_o

 

[Steve123]

You could do an overlay

That can look very, very nice. They can make it look like just about anything. But after seeing it done by pros at my neighbor's, I think I would leave that for the pros.