Concrete Polishing
Covering your concrete flooring with multiple layers of cement floor finishes seems lkea practical solution to old concrete flooring but, this only hides the problems of concrete flooring—and also creates new ones. In its natural state, concrete is a porous product that is susceptible to efflorescence, chipping and dusting. Neither does concrete provide an aesthetic finish, nor is it easily maintained. That’s why Concrete Polishing and Restoration utilizes the polished concrete system—a system that implements the science of polishing concrete floors and revolves around the conversion of floor concrete from a weak, porous and boring surface to one of strength, longevity and beauty. Concrete Polishing and Restoration's use of such a refined and reliable system is why you should trust us with polishing your concrete floors. Our polished concrete system creates a sealed, hardened and dust proofed polished cement floor, while imparting a beautiful, lasting gloss. Therefore, there is no need to add cement floor finishes.
Since 1996, the polished concrete system has been transforming new and old concrete flooring into strong, durable and beautiful decorative concrete floors. Let Concrete Polishing and Restoration do the same for you by using our system for polishing your concrete floors.
Why Polished Concrete?
The Polishing Process:
The process begins with the use of coarse diamond segments bonded in a metallic matrix. These segments are coarse enough to remove minor pits, blemishes, stains, or light coatings from the floor in preparation for final smoothing. Depending on the condition of the concrete, this initial rough grinding is generally a three- to four-step process.
The next steps involve fine grinding of the concrete surface using diamond abrasives embedded in a plastic or resin matrix. Crews use ever-finer grits of polishing disks (a process called lapping) until the floor has the desired sheen. For an extremely high-gloss finish, a final grit of 1500 or finer may be used. Experienced polishing crews know when to switch to the next-finer grit by observing the floor surface and the amount of material being removed.
During the polishing process an internal impregnating sealer is applied. The sealer sinks into the concrete and is invisible to the naked eye. It not only protects the concrete from the inside out, it also hardens and densifies the concrete. This eliminates the need for a topical coating, which reduces maintenance significantly (versus if you had a coating on it). Some contractors spread a commercial polishing compound onto the surface during the final polishing step, to give the floor a bit more sheen. These compounds also help clean any residue remaining on the surface from the polishing process and leave a dirt-resistant finish.
You can polish concrete using wet or dry methods. Although each has its advantages, dry polishing is the method most commonly used in the industry today because it's faster, more convenient, and environmentally friendly. Wet polishing uses water to cool the diamond abrasives and eliminate grinding dust. Because the water reduces friction and acts as a lubricant, it increases the life of the polishing abrasives. The chief disadvantage of this method is the cleanup. Wet polishing creates a tremendous amount of slurry that crews must collect and dispose of in an environmentally sound manner. With dry polishing, no water is required. Instead, the floor polisher is hooked up to a dust-containment system that vacuums up virtually all of the mess.
Many contractors use a combination of both the wet and dry polishing methods. Typically, dry polishing is used for the initial grinding steps, when more concrete is being removed. As the surface becomes smoother, and crews switch from the metal-bonded to the finer resin-bonded diamond abrasives, they generally change to wet polishing.
Step-by-Step:
Remove existing coatings (for thick coatings, use a 16- or 20-grit diamond abrasive or more aggressive tool specifically for coating removal, such as a T-RexTM).
Seal cracks and joints with an epoxy or other semi-rigid filler.
Grind with a 30- or 40-grit metal-bonded diamond.
Grind with an 80-grit metal-bonded diamond.
Grind with a 150-grit metal-bonded diamond (or finer, if desired).
Apply a chemical hardener to densify the concrete.
Polish with a 100- or 200-grit resin-bond diamond, or a combination of the two.
Polish with a 400-grit resin-bond diamond.
Polish with an 800-grit resin-bond diamond.
Finish with a 1500- or 3000-grit resin-bond diamond (depending on the desired sheen level).
Optional: Apply a stain guard to help protect the polished surface and make it easier to maintain.
Maintenance
The polished concrete system makes weak concrete flooring strong and turns stained or difficult-to-clean floor concrete into a beautiful polished cement floor that is easy to clean and maintain. You will never have to replace reapply, re-coat or wax your floor again—maintaining your decorative concrete floors will only require routine cleaning. This means you only need to come to Concrete Polishing and Restoration once, and won't have to keep coming back to us to years later to polish you concrete floors. The polished concrete system is a complete process that revitalizes and strengthens floor concrete. The polished concrete system creates a seal on your floor that protects it from staining and prevents dusting, while the hardening of the floor increases abrasion resistance by up to 400%. Concrete polishing works by grinding concrete floors in conjunction with the specially formulated concrete floor polishing product to eliminate the need for all topical sealers, as well as all moisture vapor problems. Concrete polish will enhance industrial, retail, commercial or restaurant floors, while eliminating the on going costs of cement floor finishes, coatings and floor cover failures.
This system for polishing concrete provides a permanent solution to floor problems and is not only functional but also architecturally and design ambitious. Our skilled, certified concrete floor contractors will create a decorative concrete floor to meet your long-term needs. With our polished concrete system, you will have the peace of mind that your polished cement floor will stand the test of time.
