Cement top finish - how is it made?

[ExpatOilWorker]

How is this cement top finish made?

It is kind of a gloss polished feather finish, but is it actually a multi layered top coat and what products to use?

It is nice and low maintenance, but unfortunately a few spots are a bit worn down and could need a touch up.

 

 

[Encid]

Polished cement or concrete does provide a surface that is more durable than tiles, easier to clean, and surprisingly affordable.

Depending on the diamond grit you use to polish a concrete floor, you can achieve different ranges of aggregate exposure and different levels of sheen, from matte to a glassy mirror-like finish.

I have seen repair work to concrete floors and it is relatively easy as it is a horizontal surface, but your kitchen bench has vertical surfaces too so I'm not too sure how best to repair that.

To repair the horizontal surface that you show is damaged I would be looking for a polishable overlay product like a sand/epoxy mix, followed by grinding and polishing to achieve a suitable finish.

 

I found this YouTube video that might give you some ideas on what you can do...

 

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

15 hours ago, Encid said:

Polished cement or concrete does provide a surface that is more durable than tiles, easier to clean, and surprisingly affordable.

Depending on the diamond grit you use to polish a concrete floor, you can achieve different ranges of aggregate exposure and different levels of sheen, from matte to a glassy mirror-like finish.

I have seen repair work to concrete floors and it is relatively easy as it is a horizontal surface, but your kitchen bench has vertical surfaces too so I'm not too sure how best to repair that.

To repair the horizontal surface that you show is damaged I would be looking for a polishable overlay product like a sand/epoxy mix, followed by grinding and polishing to achieve a suitable finish.

 

I found this YouTube video that might give you some ideas on what you can do...

 

 

Thanks for your advice.  I don't plan to re-do the whole kitchen counter top, just fix a few damaged spots.

I am trying to figure out if it is a DIY job with an angle grinder, but still unsure how to finish the top coat.

 

[unheard]

21 hours ago, Encid said:

Polished cement or concrete does provide a surface that is more durable than tiles

Unfortunately polished concrete is not a common option for residential niche in Thailand.

[unheard]

5 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

I don't plan to re-do the whole kitchen counter top, just fix a few damaged spots.

If you don't know the used materials it might be impossible to match up the damaged section to the rest of the counter.

Also, chances are, that in a few short years the undamaged, for now, parts might also go bad.

[unheard]

Here's a picture posted a while ago by the local member named Saanim.

If the finish looks similar to yours you might want to contact him for more information:

 

[Encid]

5 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Thanks for your advice.  I don't plan to re-do the whole kitchen counter top, just fix a few damaged spots.

I am trying to figure out if it is a DIY job with an angle grinder, but still unsure how to finish the top coat.

I don't think an angle grinder would be necessary but I'd do a lot of research before trying anything... there do not seem to be many responses here so maybe no (or limited) experience from forum members.

 

Have a look through the Sika Thailand website here... they might have a product and an application method that may be suitable for your repair.

 

 

There are several Thai polished concrete specialist Contractors who may be able to offer suggestions... try any or all of the following:

Singlong Engineering

Reentech

CrystalFloor

RepFloor

 

Failing that, I do think that an epoxy based product could be your solution.

[unheard]

16 minutes ago, Encid said:

Failing that, I do think that an epoxy based product could be your solution.

I'm not sure why you keep bringing up polished concrete.

By the looks of it his countertop is not polished concrete.

Seems to be a common epoxy based product.

His problem is that he needs to identify which exact product has originally been used so he can remove the damaged section and reapply a new, matching in finish coat.

[unheard]

double

[Encid]

7 minutes ago, unheard said:

I'm not sure why you keep bringing up polished concrete.

Because it looks like polished concrete to me.

And the topic title refers to "cement".

From the image in the OP it would appear that the kitchen floor and both counters (top and sides) are polished concrete/cement.

 

Perhaps the OP can clarify?

 

[unheard]

10 minutes ago, Encid said:

Because it looks like polished concrete to me.

Perhaps the OP can clarify?

OK, maybe the OP can clarify the nature of the material in more details?

The only thing I can say that it's very, very uncommon (as in unheard of) to find an actual polished concrete countertop in Thailand.

And I'd be very grateful if someone could point me to an actual example at a reasonable cost.

[ExpatOilWorker]

11 minutes ago, Encid said:

Perhaps the OP can clarify?

It is most definitely a concrete floor. From the broken section,  it looks like a 1/4" of concrete was laid to level the floor and then 1 or possibly 2 top coats were applied.

The big question is, what material was used for the top coat?

 

[Encid]

2 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

It is most definitely a concrete floor. From the broken section,  it looks like a 1/4" of concrete was laid to level the floor and then 1 or possibly 2 top coats were applied.

The big question is, what material was used for the top coat?

From the aggregate size in the photo (it's a bit difficult to determine the scale) it would appear that the leveling was done by a cement/sand mix, not concrete (which would have a cement/sand/crushed rock or stone mix).

 

Can you tell us what the aggregate size is?

Is that broken section from the floor or your counter top?

Underneath the broken sections is the aggregate size in the concrete larger?

[ExpatOilWorker]

8 minutes ago, Encid said:

From the aggregate size in the photo (it's a bit difficult to determine the scale) it would appear that the leveling was done by a cement/sand mix, not concrete (which would have a cement/sand/crushed rock or stone mix).

 

Can you tell us what the aggregate size is?

Is that broken section from the floor or your counter top?

Underneath the broken sections is the aggregate size in the concrete larger?

I will say you are spot on, the top layer is probably a sand/cement mix.

The broken section is part of the floor.

 

[Encid]

27 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

I will say you are spot on, the top layer is probably a sand/cement mix.

The broken section is part of the floor.

In my opinion the only way to repair this type of damage is to excavate the broken sections, vacuum clean to remove all dust/debris, then refill with a similar sand cement mix.

You would have to try to find a sand aggregate of a similar size and colour in order to match the original as closely as possible, and it may take a few trial batches before you get the mix right.

 

For your countertop, it might be worth ignoring the small pits and scratches and using a product like HG natural stone protector, which is a polymer emulsion that forms a wafer-thin glossy yet extremely protective coating.

 

 

Having said that I would not rule out any suggestions made by the polished concrete specialist Contractors I referred to earlier.

[Bill97]

Doesn’t look polished.  I think the concrete is poured and smoothed then before dry cement from the bag is spread and rubbed in until the surface is very smooth, sometimes several applications of cement and a lot of rubbing.  I have several floors done that way and no chips or cracks after 20 years.  It is a finish option not uncommon here.

[unheard]

2 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

Doesn’t look polished.  I think the concrete is poured and smoothed then before dry cement from the bag is spread and rubbed in until the surface is very smooth, sometimes several applications of cement and a lot of rubbing.  I have several floors done that way and no chips or cracks after 20 years.  It is a finish option not uncommon here.

is that how it's done?

I always wondered how they achieve that look.

And yeah, polished concrete is virtually non-existent here in the non-commercial settings.

[ExpatOilWorker]

1 hour ago, Bill97 said:

Doesn’t look polished.  I think the concrete is poured and smoothed then before dry cement from the bag is spread and rubbed in until the surface is very smooth, sometimes several applications of cement and a lot of rubbing.  I have several floors done that way and no chips or cracks after 20 years.  It is a finish option not uncommon here.

That is interesting and possible, but I still think it has some kind of top coat, maybe just sort of lacquer.

In a few spots the surface have peeled off in a similar way to paint flaking off.

 

[Bill97]

17 hours ago, unheard said:

is that how it's done?

Yes I have observed the process several times.

 

16 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

That is interesting and possible, but I still think it has some kind of top coat, maybe just sort of lacquer.

Possible.  Mine had no coating and no chipping or other issues.  Putting the cement on and smoothing it should be done when the underlying concrete is still damp to insure good bonding.