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How to Strip and Polish Concrete Floors?

Author: Angela Joseph
by Angela Joseph
Posted: Jul 11, 2018

Modern polished concrete floors are not only elegant they are durable and very economical so it is worth considering having them installed when building or renovating your home or workplace as a very practical flooring solution.

Before you can polish concrete floors they need to be stripped back to a clean and sound surface that is easy to polish. This can be done by mechanical grinders or with the use of Chemicals stripper.

Chemical strippers are either solvent based which usually uses methylene chloride, a very strong, reactive, flammable oxidizer that requires the user to wear protective clothing and respirators or biochemical strippers that are much more user and environmentally friendly. These usually take longer and may require repeat applications to remove some surfaces, but are much more user and environmentally friendly. They also have the advantage they are less messy and can be cleaned up with water.

The first step in stripping your old floor is to remove all the old cement on the surface along with any covering that may be there including tiles, grout, paint or epoxy.

When deciding which is the best method thought must be given to the ability of the operators, the site limitations and what has to be removed or stripped from the floor.

It is also important to consider what you want the finished floor to look like, is it inside or outside, how it will be used and whether there are any designs or patterns you wish to keep or blemishes you want to remove.

The best approach to effective and efficiently have your own polished concrete floors is to do the job in stages. The following steps will help you do the best job with the best results.

  • Step 1:Sweep the floor thoroughly

Use a broom or vacuum cleaner to remove any dirt or debris so the floor is clean

  • Step2: Mop the floor with clean water and a mild detergent

Moping will remove any mild stains and also pick up any remaining dust so you can properly inspect the floor

  • Step 3: Dry the floor and inspect it carefully

It is important to dry the floor properly and then make a visual inspection of all areas of the floor so you can see if there are any repairs required

  • Step 4: Polish the floor using a Coarse (500) Grit cutter polisher

This will effectively remove any stubborn stains lose concrete and rough areas

Start at one end and grind/polish the floor systematically from side to side to evenly cover the whole floor in a circular motion. Try to avoid overlapping but pay extra attention to stains and rough areas.

  • Step 5 Polish with fine Grit Polishing Disk

Using a circular motion, polish the whole floor, the whole surface should look even, clean and uniform with any remaining stains and rough areas removed

  • Step 6: Polish with an Extra-Fine Grit (1500) Polishing Disk
  • This step will give your floor a nice glass like sheen. During this part of the polishing, you should overlap the circles as you go with a rhythmic circular motion over the entire floor
  • Step 7: Apply an Appropriate Concrete Floor Polish

Apply the correct floor polish using the floor grinder to give your floor an extra-long lasting sheen and suitable ware protection.

About the Author

Hardcore Concrete is a Concrete Polishing Gold Coast based company servicing a wide variety of customers including Architects, Interior designers.

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Author: Angela Joseph

Angela Joseph

Member since: Jun 03, 2018
Published articles: 14

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