Diamonds for Floor Grinders - Concrete Grinding, Coating Removal, Polishing -- Made in the USA.

How to Polish Concrete Floors

Complete concrete floor polishing and finishing process.

"Advantage" Diamond Tooling for Concrete Polishing.

The Polishing Process

	UNFINISHED OR UNPROCESSED CONCRETE: To fully understand the techniques of the concrete polishing process it is important to understand what happens when you grind concrete. The diagrams below show cross sectional views of a common concrete slab floor and the versions of aggregate that will be exposed. THE POLISHING PROCESS CONSISTS of 5 SPECIFIC STEPS.
	1) GRINDING: Metal Tool Grinding – The concrete polishing process begins by equipping your grinder with the following diamond grits: 30, 70, 120, 200. With these grit sizes you'll expose the desired aggregate in the concrete. TIP: Start with highest grit when possible and move to a lower grit if necessary. Transitional Stage – You remove the above diamond scratches by using semi-metal resin pads, grits: 50, 100 and 200. These transitional diamonds effectively remove the scratches left from the metal tools and create a surface ready for polishing. TIP: Your floor should be free of all visible tooling marks after this stage.
	2) DYES, STAINS, CHEMICALS – After using the 200 grit transitional diamond you can apply any dyes or stains to the concrete. Vacuum or wet scrub the floor to be sure all the dust and debris has been removed. Applying a lithium densifier to solidify the concrete and densify its surface and to provide extra protection from water penetration and staining. TIP: DO NOT let the densifier pool or puddle on your floor, this can create staining that is difficult to remove in the polishing stages.
	3) TRANSITION – Continue the polishing process with the 400-grit transition tool. During this step of the process the concrete will start to shine.
	4) POLISH – This step begins the actual polishing process. Switching to the resin diamond polishing pads beginning with 200-grit and followed by 400, 800, 1500, 3000 grit (3000 grit optional). Ensure dust is removed (vacuumed) after each pass. Each of the resin grits will show their degree of shine and reflection. If you continue through the 3000- grit resin, your concrete should have a mirror- like finish that almost resembles the look of glass.
	5) SEAL, PROTECT & BURNISH – Once you get the desired polish look it is recommended that you protect the surface by applying a commercial stain-guard product, especially if the surface will be exposed to grease, oil, or chemicals. Using a pump up sprayer, apply two thin light coats. Allow coats to dry approximately 30 minutes between coats. Use a burnishing pad after the second coat has thoroughly dried. This will finish the concrete cleaning process and give your new polished floor its ultimate shine. TIP: Start with a low RPM burnishing pass to ensure the guard sealer has cured and the pad is not scratching floor.

Aggregate Exposure - Cross section of a concrete floor

Non-polished or unprocessed concrete often has some type of topical coating or adhesive present that will have to be removed by using a coating removal tool (see ADVANTAGE'S COATING REMOVAL TOOLS ) prior to using the Metal Bond Diamond Tools.

Determine the desired finished - Amount of Aggregate Exposure:

MINIMAL:

The cream look requires little surface cut depth and has little aggregate exposure.

SMALL:

The salt and pepper look requires a 1/16-inch surface cut depth and has fine aggregate exposure with little or no medium aggregate exposure in random locations.

MEDIUM:

The medium aggregate exposure requires a 1/8-inch surface cut depth and has a medium aggregate exposure with little or no large aggregate exposure at random locations.

LARGE:

The large aggregate exposure requires a 1/4-inch surface cut depth and has a large aggregate exposure with little or no fine aggregate exposure at random locations.

Step-by-step Options in the Concrete Polishing Process

Cream Surfaces	Salt and Pepper Surfaces	Large Aggregate Surfaces
100 Grit, Semi-Metal 200 Grit, 100% Resin 400 Grit, 100% Resin 1800 Grit, 100% Resin 3000 Grit, 100% Resin	70 Grit Metal Bond 120 Grit Metal Bond 100 Grit Semi-Metal 200 Grit 100% Resin 400 Grit 100% Resin 800 Grit 100% Resin 1800 Grit 100% Resin 3000 Grit 100% Resin	25 Grit Metal Bond 70 Grit Metal Bond 120 Grit Metal Bond 100 Grit Semi-Metal 200 Grit 100% Resin 400 Grit 100% Resin 800 Grit 100% Resin 1800 Grit 100% Resin 3000 Grit 100% Resin