The Polished Concrete Process
Polished concrete is achieved by a process in which concrete is diamond-ground to a desired look. The grinding exposes very little stone “fines” to large amounts of stone. Then, by use of special resin diamonds, the concrete is highly polished to a fine gloss finish. Densifyer chemicals are added to increase its strength, durability and protection. Stain resisters are also added. The gloss levels are created by burnishing the polished concrete. Because there is no topical coating it’s extremely hard wearing and does not scratch. There are now new full water-proof polished systems available for concrete floors. These give a reliable no-staining floor surface – which is not always the case with all concrete polishing techniques.
Concrete flooring is used in many places which see the daily pounding of many feet. Concrete is used because it resists damage from regular wear and abuse as well. However, concrete can look dull, and if left to sit without a protective polished surface it will absorb stains from food, gum and dirt. By contrast, polished concrete floors have a beautiful sheen and have even found a place in residential design where they can look very attractive. Polished floors reflect light better than many other floor materials. Cleaning is easy as well, due to the a very smooth surface of a material that can be made resistant to stains. Simple mopping with soap and water is usually enough to bring back the shine of any Superfloor polished concrete floor.
Concrete polishing has become the flooring choice of the 21st century, a design with an aesthetic appeal and outstanding durability and lifespan. It is popular in private homes, commercial and industrial flooring situations. Polishing concrete is economical and almost indestructible when compared to other conventional flooring methods.
With the concrete polishing guard systems that the Floorcoat offers, we can give you a non-staining diamond polished concrete floor that will last 10 plus years with very little maintenance.
Creative uses of Polished Concrete
Polished concrete is now used to replicate the effects of other materials. It is strong, durable and less expensive than stone, marble or granite. Acid is used on the concrete to produce these effects, and then polished. Polished concrete floors can even have different sheens, like glossy or satin. Concrete polished floors can be used to give any room, business or residential for a very attractive look.
Concrete Grinding
This process uses concrete grinding machines to remove old or unwanted concrete or coatings. This is done using either hand-held or massive 4-head planetary grinders, on up to our impressive 8-head HTC 1500 ride-on grinder. These concrete grinding machines use 3 phase power with up to 11 HP motors spinning 3 or 4 heads on a planetary head.
These industrial grinders generally have weights from 350 kg to 2000 kg. It is this downward pressure on diamonds cutters that creates the grinding friction needed to remove the surface of the concrete.
All our grinders come with dust shrouds that are used with 3 phase vacuums to keep dust to zero. The vacs then bag the dust to be removed from sight to minimise environmental contamination.
The concrete is ground by diamonds placed in segments that are called ‘shoes’. These shoes come in different densities for different grades of concrete from soft to hard, plus different coarseness – very similar to grades of sandpaper. 25 grit is typically used to grind down floors and for stock removal. Finer grade diamonds are then used to remove scratches made by the course grits as well as floor preparation for epoxy coatings etc.
Concrete grinding is the removal and shaping of concrete
Concrete grinders are used for removal of concrete for shaping a footpath, preparation for tiles, grinding to expose stones for concrete honing, or concrete grinding floors for vinyl preparation etc.
Concrete grinding can be done on drive ways, large floor areas for tile prep or anything concrete.
Sealers, resins or epoxy’s can the be used to seal and protect the concrete ground finish or if its a floor then polished concrete is your best choice.
Floorcoat specialise in floor concrete grinding preparation. We make floors flat or level. Combining lasers and a specialised floor laser reader we can scan and map your floor to get accurate measurements. The floor is then ground to suit.
Floor grinding can be used for anti-slip coatings or surfaces. We can grind a grit anti-slip pattern into the concrete and harden it with a surface hardener.
Floorcoat offer the latest services in concrete grinding with state of the art equipment for all sized jobs, ranging from small single head concrete grinders to our medium to 800 series as well as our 1.5 meter wide grinder for large scale work.
Concrete Sealing
Concrete sealing or coating are top coats used to protect or beautify the concrete substrate.
Coated or sealed concrete is where the concrete has either a penetrating or top coat sealer applied. This is different to polished concrete. Coated concrete can provide anti-slip coatings. There are many variations so please contact us to discuss your safety requirements.
Depending on the types of coatings required, there are small but important preliminary steps.
The types of coatings vary and include:
- sealers that sit in the surface of the concrete
- special water proofing liquids that penetrate and solidify
- top coating systems the bond to the surface of the concrete.
Each application requires the right product for the type of use it may be subjected to. For example, a floor needs to be sealed in an aircraft hanger. Due to leaking chemicals used in the aircraft industry it would require a chemical resistant epoxy, resin, aliphatic polyurea etc. The wrong product will break down, letting the chemicals migrate into the concrete substrate.
