For most people, what comes to mind when they hear concrete floors is the boring grey surfaces you see at the construction sites. But this is not accurate because concrete has more value to offer. The beauty of concrete floors is that they are easy to install and customize to achieve any look you would desire. They are also a durable and pocket-friendly flooring choice compared to other flooring materials. That’s why they’ve become a popular flooring option for homes, warehouses, and commercial centers.
In the hands of a pro, concrete polishing is one of the best ways to get a quality finish for your concrete floors. It makes surfaces that you can wipe, mop, and dust easily. Even more, the floor surfaces look attractive for both homes and commercial spaces. So why should you consider concrete polishing for your floors?
Polished Concrete is Safe for Your Health
If you leave your concrete unpolished, it emits a lot of dust, which can have respiratory health effects to the people using it. Such a floor cannot pass health requirements standards if it’s in the industrial space. Polishing concretes caters to this issue. It keeps you safe from dusty conditions as well as avoid getting fined by the authorities.
Polishing Concrete Gives You an Economic Advantage
If you are moving into a new place or intend to build a home, concrete could be what you need to save money on floor installations. It’s cost-effective to install and maintain. And once you’ve installed it, you won’t need to worry about reinstalling them. When polished, your concrete floor requires very minimal maintenance as well.
A well-done concrete polishing process will produce a shiny surface that reflects light and heat. So, you’ll have brighter rooms most of the day. This quality will help you save on energy bills.
Polished Concrete is Durable
Most floor materials will damage with regular use. Unpolished concrete also gets damaged quickly through chipping, cracking, and breaking. But polished concrete can stand a lot of heavy-duty activities, resist water penetration, prevent oil stains, and chemical reactions. So if you maintain your polished concrete wall properly, it will last you a hundred years and more.
Polished Concrete Has a Lot of Design Potential
If you are looking for a flooring system that you can get creative with, then concrete is the answer. The designer in you can use polish to design and achieve a variety of styles. This design process could happen through dying to get colorful concrete themes for your space. Some people give the concrete a natural feel by applying a stone-like finish.
Others draw on their concrete floors, make it look like limestone, and even a wet look using an acrylic sealer. The design potential of concrete is so huge you won’t lack an idea to apply. You can even experiment with new ideas and find something new that appeals to you.
Polished Concrete is Easy to Clean
Concrete polish does so well in places with spillages and chemical reactions. It does not soak in water, entertain oil stains, or react to chemicals. Therefore, polished concrete doesn’t gather dust and stains. All it needs is dusting using a damp rag or a quick mop using water and soap to make it clean. That helps you save a lot of money when it comes to investing in cleaning and maintenance.
Concrete Polishing Steps
Concrete polishing should meet specific industry standards to offer the best service as well as pass concrete polishing regulations. So if you are doing concrete polishing as a DIY project, consider looking into the requirements and do your work to the standards required. If you want to give your concrete surface a fresh look, here is how to do concrete polishing:
Understand How Hard Your Concrete Is
The first step in polishing concrete is to understand how hard your concrete is. Knowing this will help you choose the most effective tools for your project. There are plenty of inexpensive concrete testing kits out there, so the process won’t be hard as it sounds.
Repair Any Damage on the Concrete
If your concrete has prior polishing, remove the coating. As you do this, ensure that you leave behind a smooth concrete floor for the oncoming activity. You don’t want to polish concrete that has cracks, chips, and spalls because doing this will make the floor look uneven. Depending on the extent of damage, you’ll use different repair methods and materials. If you have no idea where to start with the repair work, consider looking for professional advice from experts like Armor Coatings.
As you repair your concrete floor, fill the pores and cracks without flooding the surface with your filler. If you do this, it will become a stain that will affect the quality of your work.
Grind the Concrete
Before we do anything we grind the concrete with diamond blades to make sure it is smooth and ready to be polished. This grinding process can take several steps to get right.
Polish the Concrete
Take out your polishing tools and start the polish work. The type of grit you choose will depend on how shiny you want your floor to appear. You can select between 100 and 800 grit levels with the higher number indicating the shinier option.
Protect Your Polish
After you are through with your polishing, you need to protect it from chemical reactions and oil stains. So if you’re working on a kitchen floor, don’t bypass this stage because such areas are prone to all manner of spillages.
In a span of one hour, apply a stain guard in two light layers to get effective polish protection. Afterward, polish your floor again to give it the final glow. If your concrete floor is for industrial purposes, using epoxy will come in handy because it offers very durable flooring polish.
The Beauty of Concrete Polishing With Armor Coatings
Concrete polishing makes beautiful floors. With knowledge on what to do, you can polish your concretes and turn out with professional quality results. But with inexperience, you might realize that your concrete coating process falls short of quality and might end up being costly than you originally anticipated. If you are unsure how to go about concrete polishing, feel free to contact Armor Coatings for our professionals to help you out. Your floor is better off in the hands of pros if you want excellent results at reasonable costs.
