There's a growing demand across Australia for polished concrete floors - and it's not hard to see why. Polishing concrete floors can create a feature addition to new and renovated commercial, domestic or industrial buildings.

West of Brisbane, our client Joe and his team from Termi Home were enjoying increased demand for polished concrete floors, and for concrete grinding and floor preparation. All Preparation Equipment was there to help guide them through the procedure for polishing concrete, and provide some handy tricks of the trade. 

The perfect finish for exposed polished concrete floors

At All Preparation Equipment, it's our job to make your tough jobs easy. That's why we're always happy to help contractors learn how to do the job right the first time, by passing on our in-depth knowledge of concrete polishing.

Creating the ideal polished finish for concrete floors all begins with cleaning the concrete and grinding back the concrete to expose as much stone as required. Then, it's a matter of following a step-by-step process to level off, smooth over and begin polishing the concrete floor.

All Preparation Equipment recommended a combination of two Schwamborn concrete grinders for the job. Working hand in hand, the smaller DSM250 Schwamborn ran around the edges of the floor, while the big three-phase Schwamborn DSM530S planetary system polished up the main floor area.

To ensure they got the right finish before polishing the entire concrete floor, Termi ground and polished a small sample patch of concrete in a storage shed. The test patch on the storage shed was a success, helping the team win the project to polish the entire concrete floor.

Schwamborn DSM250 edger & DSM530S planetary team up

Termi began the concrete polishing job with the most aggressive 1620 and 2030 grit knock-on diamond shoes, to cut back the concrete and open up the concrete slab. The Schwamborn grinders then ran through to an intermediate cut with the 4060 and 6080 grit diamond shoes, before finishing the concrete floor with a final cut using the 6080 and 100120 grit diamonds.

With the help of this succession of different knock-on diamond shoes, the Schwamborn grinding machines moved like a charm.

Thanks to the variable speed performance of the three-phase planetary grinder, Termi could carry out the initial cuts at a faster speed. They then moved on to the concrete polishing process by slowing the machine down and grinding at a slower speed. This allowed Termi to achieve a smoother finish on the concrete floor, ensuring the best possible result.

Densifiers help to give concrete floors more polish

To enhance the final look and finish of the polished concrete floor area, Termi used concrete densifiers and hardeners throughout the intermediate passes.

All Prep's "Hard Stride" Potassium Silicate concrete densifier and hardener was ideal for preventing concrete dusting and preparing the concrete slab for polishing. A slick coat of the polishing densifier was used to enhance the finish of concrete, allowing the chemicals to react with the concrete.

Pictures tell a thousand words, so we've shared with you some shots of these machines in action.

Want to learn more about the mechanical concrete floor polishing process and concrete polishing tools? All Preparation Equipment can help ensure your projects are successful every time. Call our team today on 1800 422 992 to discuss your concrete preparation projects.