Glossy Concrete Floor

[silentnine]

hi all

my wife has decided that a new room we are building is going to have a polished glossy colored concrete floor

has anyome done this before ?

any info on how to do it so i know before the local builders in the village make a pigs ear out of it as they seem to think its the same as making a smooth wall however i can't think that would be very strong/durable for a floor

[lopburi3]

Are you sure she is not talking about a normal terrazzo floor? Locals should be able to make that.

[silentnine]

Are you sure she is not talking about a normal terrazzo floor? Locals should be able to make that.

she is definitely saying polished concrete floor

she and the local builder seem to think its just a matter of adding some hardening liquid and colors to the concrete then rubbing it down when its nearly dry

and now i am having a tin of clear acrylic paint that says its super hard on the tin, waived in front of me lol, there is a picture of a floor on the tin though

mmmmm

polished floor = painted with clear gloss paint ??

Edited November 3, 2012 by silentnine

[sirineou]

They can make the concrete smooth by troweling it as it dries, It is a simple process of waiting until the cement is dried a little bit, hand troweling it and bringing the slurry (wet cement) up to the surface, then repeating the process until you have a smooth surface, for large commercial or residential surfaces there are mechanical trowels.

[Greenside]

Polished concrete and stained concrete often go together and you're unlikely to find anyone locally who knows how to do it. There is a great deal online about both subjects - here are two to start you off:

The Concrete Network

Kemico - Scroll Down to See The Impressive Stuff!

There is even a whole site somewhere devoted to concrete kitchen counters.....

Have fun!

Edited November 4, 2012 by Greenside

[mania]

she is definitely saying polished concrete floor

she and the local builder seem to think its just a matter of adding some hardening liquid and colors to the concrete then rubbing it down when its nearly dry

That is correct. There are hardeners you can add & later buff the floor to an incredible shine.

Some Aircraft hangers & even Home Depot stores in America do this.

they also claim they need less lighting afterward due to the reflective quality.

It was not a one step process years ago. Maybe different today.

First a powder/flake silicate type material is hand pitched onto the drying slab to be

troweled in with a powered whirly bird type trowel like pictured above.

After setting up a liquid is also sprayed on while curing

They also added a few gallons of a product directly to the cement truck so the cement would not

set too quickly & yet not be too wet by trying to accomplish that through additional water alone.

Sorry it has been years since I used it so you will need to

google concrete hardening systems for the various types.

Edited November 4, 2012 by mania

[silentnine]

does anyone know where sells the flakes and hardener for this ? we've tried homepro/homeworks in pattaya

all we have been able to buy so far is 1 gallon of liquid which i'm not even sure is the right stuff and a bag of overpriced coloured powder

[mania]

does anyone know where sells the flakes and hardener for this ? we've tried homepro/homeworks in pattaya

all we have been able to buy so far is 1 gallon of liquid which i'm not even sure is the right stuff and a bag of overpriced coloured powder

Sorry I do not know where but I will say

that there are also liquid only methods. Even one for an existing concrete slab.

So yours may be a newer method & may be as good I do not know.

[bbradsby]

Not rocket science. it's really just mineral pigment at it's simplest, tho some use a chemical reaction with the concrete to change its color. YOu just randomly/evenly/crazily drunk cast the powder across the top of the slab as you trowel-finish it. Then seal it. Know that it's art, not science, so get relaxed about color variations. If you emotionally require 100% uniform color, get professional help, and best stay away from stained concrete. It's a Natural material.

Just find some dirt you like the color of, use only the finest powder portion of it, grind it down if necessary w/ mortar & pestle, and do some experiments with some test squares that you use later for garden walkway stones in order to get it down - main thing is relax -RIchard Nixon had to watch deep throat three times before he could get it down Pat.

[Tassawall]

Hi,

We had a lot of difficulty explaining a glossy cement floor to our contractors in Bangkok. Eventually we ended up with a clear coat of interior poly urythene that looks very good.

Good luck,

W

[T_Dog]

Most locals know how to do polished concrete floors otherwise known as steel troweled floors. You can do it manually ( a lot of work) or use the machine as shown in a prior post. Make sure you check out the builders prior work as some leave large lumps, others do a fine job. Once it cures a week or so, it is common to spray or brush it with A100 Clear Acrylic Sealer.

[wayned]

I did it years ago in the US. The pigment was in the concrete and trowled very smooth using one of those machines in post 4. My friend, a professional did it for me. The floor was then masked on the sides and around anything permanent so that the coating would not splash on it. We then applied 3 thick coats of a concrete gloss sealer , similar to the polyureathane that you use on hardwood floors. Sanded each coat after it dried but the last. Came out nice but a lot of work and "slippery" when wet. Good Luck.

Edited November 5, 2012 by wayned

[Morakot]

They can make the concrete smooth by troweling it as it dries, It is a simple process of waiting until the cement is dried a little bit, hand troweling it and bringing the slurry (wet cement) up to the surface, then repeating the process until you have a smooth surface, for large commercial or residential surfaces there are mechanical trowels.

Tip: Use a machine like this, one needs to make sure to start with a very level surface. It's really only for smoothing the surface not for levelling it. Also one needs to find the best point in time when to start the process. If too early (too wet) it might dig in, if too late (too much set) the surface might not get smooth enough.

[cheeryble]

Isn't the point to avoid using coatings like lacquer or polyurethane and the like?

They're just something else which needs re-doing.

ps: I wouldn't trust the local until I'd seen something he's done before......from experience.

Edited November 15, 2012 by cheeryble