What is Polished Concrete?

A Polished Concrete Floor has a very glossy and almost mirror-like finish and the design options when polishing concrete are immense. You can choose to create saw-cut patterns (with any colors) and even embed aggregates or custom objects into your new concrete polished floor before polishing. The amount of sheen / reflectiveness of your new polished concrete floor directly correlates to what you’d like to see within your new floor. The reason concrete floor polishing has become so popular in commercial buildings is that these floors are absolutely beautiful and are quite easy to maintain. They typically only need dry mopping with only the occasional need for chemicals to clean up any spill / mess. Concrete Floor Polishing is the way to go for any commercial / industrial application.

Our level 1 polishing is obtained by stopping at the 100 grit resin bond. When looking down directly at the floor, it can appear a little hazy with little to no reflection at all.

Like sanding wood, the beauty and smoothness of your new concrete polished floor comes from the amount of passes we make with our state of the art machines, and the selection of diamond mounted disks used to gradually grind the concrete surface down to get the desired amount of sheen and smoothness. It truly is an art form and Commercial Painting Services has a highly trained staff to make your new commercial / industrial concrete floor project a complete success!

Benefits of Polished Concrete:

 Saves Money

The density of your new concrete polished floor is so smooth that dirt / oil cannot penetrate the surface making your maintenance costs considerably cheaper.

 Foot Traffic Resistant

A shopping center owner in Southern Michigan explains that he now only has to maintain the traffic areas within his store, which he says saves him a ton of time & money because he no longer has to move big heavy display cases to wax, strip, and keep his floors looking presentable. He is in awe of his new polished concrete floors.

 Long Service Life

Concrete Polished Floors are a dream to clean and predominately only require dust mopping most of the time. Damp mopping will likely be needed only on occasion and within that, no harsh chemicals are needed. Polished concrete also has no need for additional waxes or coatings therefore reducing the time and cost of constant maintaining. These floors are so shiny and dense that they resist the marks of forklift tires and fend off staining from nasty oil and chemical spillage.

 Resistant to Moisture

Concrete polished floors breathe on their own and eliminate common issues that arise within other floor materials that seal the concrete, e.g., tile, epoxy, etc.

 High Light Reflectivity

Concrete floor polishing adds natural luminescence indoors which make any commercial / industrial facility brighter and project a more cleanly, professional image. The bonus from this is reduced artificial lighting which saves on energy which saves your operation money. More examples would be large restaurants, hotels, shopping centers, grocery stores, and more.

 Sustainable Flooring

Polished concrete does not involve any hazardous coatings, adhesives, or cleaners and therefore makes it Leed Credit worthy. You can find out more about Leed Credits here

Are Polished Concrete Floors Slippery?

1) Keep floors as free from grease, standing water, and oil as possible. Stick to your maintenance program, as always, and naturally clean up any spills as they happen.

2) Applying anti-slip conditioners can drastically improve traction and make any wet surface safer than if not using them. Remember that although these products contain additives that are designed to improve traction, they will need to be re-applied per manufacturer spec.  This will not effect the new found ease of the standard dry / damp mopping of your new floor.

3) You can also have a sealer coat applied to polished concrete that contains an anti-slip agent. We can add the anti-slip agent into the sealer to increase traction without affecting the appearance of your new polished concrete floor.

4) Whether you have used concrete polished floors in low traffic or high traffic areas, it’s sometimes good to add commercial rugs and/or rubber mats to enhance the safety of your work-force or customers. Commercial / Industrial concrete floor polishing is a safe, beautiful, and easy to maintain flooring option in any application.

Levels of Concrete Floor Polishing:

We achieve your desired sheen level (matte to glass-like full glossy finishes) by choosing different diamond grit for our machines. We typically categorize these levels from 1 though 4. Like sanding wood,  We start off with a heavier ‘grit’ diamond wheel for generally grinding the top coat of concrete off and work our way down to finer and finer diamond wheels.  Below are the four different levels to achieve the amount of sheen that your project commands:

 Level 1 Polish

Our level 1 polishing is obtained by stopping at the 100 grit resin bond. When looking down directly at the floor, it can appear a little hazy with little to no reflection at all.

 Level 2 Polish

Our level 2 polishing is obtained by stopping with the 400 grit resin bond while having produced a low-sheen finish. When looked directly down upon from a distance upwards of a hundred feet, you will start to see a slight reflection over head. This is the Level 2 low-luster and ‘matte’ finish.

 Level 3 Polish

Our level 3 polishing is obtained by reaching up to an 800 grit diamond abrasive. Your new surface would have a much higher sheen level than that of the previous level and good refect-ivity will start to be seen. This is when you will see vast natural improvements in overhead and side lighting.

 Level 4 Polish

Our level 4 polishing will produce an even higher degree of shine. When standing directly over the surface, you will start to see reflections of everything very clearly. This is the mirror-like finish that everybody raves about. Total and complete clarity with an immense amount of natural light enhancements are abound! Your new floor looking like it is still completely wet when viewing it from different angles. We obtain this level 4 look by implementing up to a 3000 grit diamond and/or from using a high-speed burnisher that uses specialty buffing pads.

 Measuring Gloss Levels

Once Commercial Painting Services completes your new Concrete Floor Polishing project, you’ll be left with a stunningly beautiful and completely shiny smooth surface. Gloss values can be measured using gloss meters and gloss values can express various degrees of reflection when light hits the new polished surface. Whether you opt in for a matte finish or opt in for the glass-like mirror finished, Commercial Painting Services can measure the absolute values using our gloss meter. Call us today to schedule your free in-person consultation. We look forward to hearing from you and about your next project!

 Receive Your Free Polishing LEED Credit Guide

Use the form below to download the Concrete Polishing Leed Credits PDF today. If you’d like to mention your project details, we’d be more than happy to look them over and give you a call. We offer Free Estimates with your free in person consultation.