Though polished concrete looks fantastic and does a world of wonders to protect concrete for years and even decades the vast majority of people don't know exactly what polished concrete is. In short polished concrete has a glossy or mirror-like finish but it goes far deeper than that. Professionals who polish concrete can also make use of specific patterns and saw cuts to customize concrete with designs, both elaborate and simple, and even colors. Moreover these colors can be embedded into polished concrete so well that they will never fade or dull. When concrete is polished it also becomes reflective which can be controlled by using different tools and chemicals. This will give the owners of concrete control over just how reflective their polished concrete will be.
The aesthetics of polished concrete aside polished concrete itself is extremely popular in commercial buildings because it is easy to maintain and requires very little maintenance. Polished concrete floors require only a small amount of dust mopping and in extreme cases the use of some minor cleaning products. Owners of structures with polished concrete will find that they have to pay maintenance people far less to maintain their polished concrete than others do to maintain unpolished concrete.
Now with regards to how concrete becomes polished, it's very similar to sanding wood. A professional concrete polisher will utilize state-of-the-art equipment complete with diamond impregnated segments on discs, which are very similar to sandpaper, and eventually grind down concrete to a customers desired smoothness and reflectivity. When a professional begins the polishing process they will of course begin by removing things like blemishes, stains, and abrasions from the concrete in question. Of course the more "beat up" concrete is prior to its polishing the longer this first step will take to complete. In some cases it can be a 3 to 4 step process.
The second step in polishing concrete is the grinding of the surface to a fine level. This is done utilizing diamond discs and continues until concrete reaches a customers desired level of sheen. Customers who ask for a super high gloss finish can expect a professional to take more time, charge more money, and use finer disc based diamonds for the task. Customers should also expect to see professionals tasked with a super high gloss finish to use multiple disks on their grinders over the course of this step.
Although it isn't necessarily fair to call this the third step in polishing concrete it would be accurate to label it step 2.5. During the grinding and polishing process concrete is impregnated with sealer so as to not only promote longevity but to help protect concrete from the type of damage seen on unpolished concrete. Once the sealer is applied it quickly sinks into the concrete and becomes invisible within a matter of seconds. Once it has solidified inside the concrete it not only protects the polished concrete but it hardens and makes concrete far more dense than it was previously. The application of sealant eliminates the need for any special concrete coating or additional care. Some professionals will go so far as to use a little of extra sealant to give polished concrete high-level shine and reflectivity.
Unbeknownst to most consumers concrete polishing can be done utilizing one of two methods. These are known in professional circles as the wet and dry methods. Each has its advantages and its drawbacks and the type a professional will utilize will depend largely on what a customer wants and the type of concrete they will be working with. Dry polishing is used much more frequently than wet polishing these days simply because it's far more convenient and much quicker than the wet method.
Dry polishing is also environmentally friendly which is something many consumers look for in a service. When a professional does utilize the web polishing method, water cools the diamond discs and eliminates the majority of dust that arises during concrete polishing. It also acts as a lubricant reducing friction between the polishing disk and the concrete which in turn eliminates not only dust but odors as well. Additionally wet concrete polishing creates a large amount of slurry/sludge that professionals must go back, collect, and then dispose of in an environmentally friendly manner. Considering all of the cons surrounding wet polishing it's not hard to see why many professionals elect for dry polishing. There are those contractors however that use a combination of both methods. In such cases dry polishing is used at the start of a project but as concrete becomes smoother professionals and their crews will switch to the wet method to finish the project.
Having concrete polished can create moods, atmospheres, and even make a building or a home feel warm and welcoming. While most consumers don't really need to understand exactly how concrete polishing works having that information in the back of their minds during such a project will give them peace of mind and help them understand what their money is actually being spent on.
Stellar Surfaces specializes in polished concrete floors NZ, polished concrete and concrete floor polishing.
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