What if one bad choice was actually ruining your concrete floors?
You might think polishing concrete floors is simply to keep them clean. However, polishing them the right way keeps those floors strong and safe for you and your family.
Wondering about the best ways to polish your concrete floors? Keep reading to discover the top 5 methods!
1. Find It And Grind It
Believe it or not, polishing should be a multi-step process. And the first major step in that process involves grinding your concrete floors.
Assuming that the floor is free of any previous coating, you can bust out the 30- to 40-grit metal-bonded diamond. Afterwards, work your way up by grinding with an 80-grit metal-bonded diamond.
If the floor still needs grinding, you can go all the way to a 150-grit metal-bonded diamond or higher. Afterwards, it’s time to get your polish on.
2. Specialized Machine
The bad news is that you’re going to need a specialized concrete polishing machine for the best results. The good news is that such a machine makes this process fairly easy.
After you grind the concrete, you must apply a hardening agent to make the floor dense. When the concrete has become sufficiently dense, you can begin polishing with the 100-grit resin diamond bond.
This, too, is a process. Afterwards, you should polish with a 400-grit bond, an 800-grit bond, and then finish with a bond of at least 1500-grit.
Visually, you should be able to tell when the floor looks nice and polished. At that point, you should put down a stain guard to make future cleaning easier.
3. Regular Maintenance
We’ve already covered the main 2 steps to thoroughly polishing your floor. However, the next tips are the keys to keeping it clean. Here’s the first tip: regular maintenance is crucial.
After the really thorough machine polishing, you should regularly clean the floor. A simple dust mop (complete with microfiber) goes a long way towards keeping the floor clean and polished.
Needless to say, you must clean up any spills on your concrete floors ASAP.
4. The Power of Automation
Is regularly mopping the concrete floor not going to work with your schedule? You can always embrace your inner “Jetsons” and let a robot handle it!
Automated concrete floor cleaners work a lot like Roombas. As long as the pads aren’t abrasive and the wheels are made of rubber, you can safely unleash this automated cleaning machine once a week to protect your polished floor.
5. Substances to Avoid
The obvious threat to a concrete floor is sand and dirt. Regular cleaning and polishing help take care of that.
However, chemicals and other substances are also a major danger. Wax, for instance, can dull your finish and is difficult to remove. It will also void any warranties you may have.
Degreasers can also ruin the floor’s finish, as can anything acidic. The bottom line? Any chemicals you need to clean will need a neutral pH balance if you hope to maintain your polish.
Polishing Concrete Floors: The Next Step
Now you know the secrets to polishing your concrete floors. But do you know the pros who can handle it for you?
We specialize in coating, flooring, polishing, and more. To see what we can do for you, contact us today for a quote!
