Getting a concrete polishing just might do the trick for you if you don’t want to change your concrete floor and getting a new floor is not in your budget. For your floor, though concrete polishing is like sanding wood. As soon as the upper rough surface is “sanded”, the near surface appears from underneath.
Concrete polishing gives your concrete floor a glossy, mirror-like finish and you could choose different colors and designs for your polish.
But polishing concrete floors will not be everyone’s cup of tea. DCD Garage Floors’s expert team shares some insight concerning how concrete floors are polished.
Five Essential Tools Required for Concrete Polishing
You need to have your weapons, before fighting any battle. And they tools are the weapons to have that concrete floor right:
Grinders and polishers: They are needed to evenly granulate along the concrete slab as well as the smoothing of the surface.
Diamond tools: For grinding and polishing, there are two types of pads tools. Metal-bonded diamonds are for grinding and polishing whereas resin-bonded diamonds are for polishing the surface.
Industrial floor vacuum: An essential tool accustomed to eject all of the dust and residue left over.
Hardening and compacting chemicals: The hardener chemicals are employed to create the concrete hard and unbreakable, rendering it simple to get polished. Compacting agents are widely used to adjust the density, to produce the surface water-resistant and long-lasting.
Enhancement in the floor with dyes, coloring agents and stains: Colored aggregate, integral color, glass/crystal beads, metal fragments, etc. boost the final layout in the floor.
Methods of Concrete Polishing
Concrete polishing can be achieved by making use of various ways, given below:
Dry polishing: In this particular method, a vacuum product is attached to the polishers, allowing every one of the dust to get ejected directly so that it clears the mess combined with the process. It can be faster plus more convenient and eco-friendly. The dry method is commonly used for floor polishing.
Wet polishing: In the wet process, during the grinding process, it uses water to cool the diamond abrasives. Hence, it eliminates grinding dust and water minimizes the friction. The liquid used throughout the process produces plenty of slurry, that causes difficulties in cleaning and disposal.
Simple Measures for Concrete Polishing
No matter if you’re DIY-ing your concrete floors or you’re calling an expert to get the job done, you should know the basic steps for concrete polishing so no one can scam you:
A surface is ready by heavy-duty grinders equipped with diamond-segmented abrasives tools. One can use them to grind down concrete surfaces till you get to the desired level of smoothness and shine.
By using diamond abrasives of 16 to 20 grit, they’ll remove the coatings.
Next step is to fill all the cracks and joints (if any) by using semi-rigid epoxies and fillers.
Once finished with sealing, grind the surface using the metal-bonded diamond abrasives varying from 30 to 40 grit.
Now, grind the outer lining with the metal-bonded diamond abrasives of 80 grit.
Follow by grinding it with all the metal-bonded diamond abrasives of 150 grit.
After this sequence of grinding, apply the chemical hardener to help make the concrete hard.
A series of polishing will again take place; start polishing with resin-bonded diamond. The grit used can range from 100 to 200.
Now polishing is completed with resin-bonded diamond from 400 to 800 grit.
The last finishing is conducted by utilizing resin-bonded diamond varying from 400 to 800 grit.
Lastly, applying a stain guard is optional. It helps in protecting the polished surface and makes it much simpler to maintain.
Concrete polishing is carried out! Time and energy to decorate your concrete floor!
In
Concrete Polishing Waterloo of styling, concrete flooring is available in a huge variety of styles, colors and texture effects. So, if you have a plan to add a concrete floor in your home, get your creative juices choose and flowing a modern concrete floor. Concrete floors are an all-rounder when it comes to style, durability and functionality.