Before sealing the concrete, it is vital to have a matte finish to prevent any reflection. Profiling also eliminates surficial material or foreign substances that would meddle with shaping a decent bond. Nevertheless, there are some popular profiling techniques, namely, etching and honing.
Cleaning should follow right after profiling your concrete. It would be best to clean the concrete to take care of any scratches or flaws formed due to profiling. So, you can use a soft cushion foam along with clear water to wipe the concrete surface. Finally, your concrete should be arid after applying the sealer. Dry concrete allows the sealer to have a firm hold of the concrete. In contrast, moist or wet concrete will hinder the cure, causing ineffective sealing of the concrete countertop.
The smooth polish offers you the smoothest sheen any polisher technique can offer. However, to get this sheen, hone your countertop lightly with your diamond pad and hand polisher. They are also famous for their excellent absorbent feature for dust and small particle dirt. This type of concrete polish is the easiest to achieve and is suitable to hold stains and colors better than smooth polish.
So, to get this surface, you need to expose the underlying sand in the concrete mix. However, this requires a level of expertise, as you have to watch out not to expose the aggregate layer. It is the most attractive concrete finish type and most sought after.
Nevertheless, for this concrete finish, you will need to expose the aggregate layer of your concrete countertop. Polishers use polishing pads for any finishing they need to make and many factors in choosing the most suitable pad. However, the most vital factor would be the type of project you are undertaking. You can read more about how to choose the right diamond polishing pad.
It is pertinent to allow the concrete countertop cure for a minimum of ten days and a maximum of thirty days. It allows you to get the best performance from your concrete. However, any attempt to polish your concrete countertop outside of this will give you a flawed project.
After curing, use your squeegee to wash the surface of your concrete so as to remove any debris. Sometimes your concrete countertop can have holes or scratches. Expedited orders placed after 1pm EST will ship next business day.
Please Call if you need a Saturday Delivery this is a separate service. If expediting an order with Form Liners, Texture Mats, or Stamps , please call to check availability. If any items in your shipment are damaged or missing please contact us at immediately to take care of replacements.
Replacements will ship via Standard Ground. Canadian orders typically take 1 additional business day to process. White Countertop Mix and Freight Shipments Freight orders will normally ship by the following business day. LTL Freight shipments to a residential addresses are curb side end of driveway deliveries.
The Freight company will contact you via phone number provided to schedule delivery window. Freight transit map can be viewed below. These times are to your local terminal and are a rough estimate only. The time until delivery can vary depending on your vicinity to the freight terminal and the terminals current volume. PA Warehouse This transit map represents days in transit from our warehouse to your local terminal.
Most orders containing over 10 bags of White Countertop Mix. Large or bulky items over lbs may ship freight. Return Policy. Eligible returns are as follows: Unopened products within 90 days of customer receiving order. Must be in original packaging and resellable condition when product arives to Returns Department. Resellable condition means the entire SKU must be returned. We cannot accept returns, for instance, on Edge Packages where singular edge pieces or backwall pieces are missing.
Partially returned SKUs will not be credited. All items subject to inspection before credit is issued. If items do not meet our return parameters, please feel free to post a resale listing on our forum or any other online marketplace! Bigger floor grinders with more heads will cover large areas faster. Young Caine: [looking down and seeing the insect] Old man, how is it that you hear these things? Our version went something like this: Master Po: Ha! Never assume because one grinder manufacturer claims to have the best and fanciest equipment on the market that they do.
Young Caine: I hear the same darn story at every booth I visit that their equipment is the best!! Master Po: Do you feel the scratch pattern left behind from the previous grit at your feet, which is a result of advancing the machine at too fast of a pace.
Young Caine: [looking down and seeing the scratches] Old man, how is it that you feel these things? Take the grinder for a test drive. You want to avoid a machine that leaves behind visible lines or striping. As in the Kung Fu example, the decision on the appropriate type of equipment for your needs starts with listening and learning. You must truly have an in-depth understanding of what your target market is going to be and the project size your company intends on pursuing.
Purchasing equipment can be a huge capital investment, and the differences between some of the equipment can equate to tens of thousands of dollars. This is why it is imperative to understand who your clients will be and if you will be servicing the residential, light industrial or heavy commercial market.
When making such an investment, take into consideration that single-head machines can range in grinding widths from 20 to almost 40 inches. Obviously, the smaller machines are great for getting into tight and hard-to-access areas and fit through most conventional doorways. Conversely, larger equipment can almost double production rates on large projects, but they require higher voltage and three-phase power to operate. The reality of this market is that it is tough to compete with the big guys already established in the polishing world, especially when you are trying to get into this business.
Passive is where the drum is driven with a single belt, which means the drum is rotating but the grinding heads are just spinning freely and not being driven with a secondary belt. A true nonplanetary grinder is where the drum is not spinning but the heads are gear-driven. The grinding heads overlap each other. Some think that this type of grinding machines is better-suited for heavy bulk removal.
If you are not careful with this type of machine, though, it is very easy to get visible lines or striping, which makes it necessary to swing the machine side to side to avoid a corn row effect. Of course, theoretically this means you would have to have a propane dust extractor too assuming you are grinding dry , since you would be defeating the purpose if your vacuum was electrically powered. Also, there are certain scenarios where the fumes from a propane-driven machine are not acceptable.
Does this mean most professional polishing contractors use one complete system throughout the entire process? The reality is, more often they do not. Each of the contractors was using a certain brand of grinding equipment with dust-extraction equipment and diamond tooling produced by a competitor.
The best advice I can give to anyone considering diving into the polished concrete business is to do your research on the manufacturers and ask plenty of questions. After all, would you buy a new car without asking any questions? The last thing you need is to make a large investment, only to find out that your equipment is not performing like it should or you do not have the market to support your investment.
I know of two scenarios in which contractors tried to save a few dollars upfront and purchased equipment that performed marginally, at best.
A year later, they put their machines up for sale to purchase grinders that ran more efficiently and, quite frankly, polished a heck of a lot better. Fortunately for him, he was able to use his equipment on a weekly basis for prepping floors for cement-based toppings. For the greatest versatility, choose grinding equipment that is universal, allowing you to interchange diamond tooling from other manufacturers.
Here is a list of questions I recommend bringing up when talking to polishing equipment manufacturers:.
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