Thread: Does a Concrete Floor Need to bo Polished?

Originally Posted by rrich

All of the "Painted" concrete floors that I've seen look like crap after a few years of wear.

If adding color to the concrete mix before pouring is not possible then I would suggest a staining procedure. Basically it is an etch with HCl (Muriatic Acid) and then apply a stain that penetrates. The available colours are sort of bland and earth tone.

There is a product that adds colour to fresh concrete. The stuff is a powder that is worked into the concrete during the finishing process. It can be done as part of a texturing (simulated stone) process. Usually a second colour is used as a release agent for the stamping molds that are used to create the texture. There are much more colours available in this process.

And mineral pigments (powder) are generally more durable than liquid (stain) additives. Sunlight is the enemy of all such colouring, especially blue, and liquid stains survive the shortest.

Joe

Hi Skyhook,
Agree with Joe's observation about polished floors being dangerous when wet, or slippery for rugs etc. I don't know what you're intended use for the studio is, but from experience know that dropped chisels and concrete floors don't mix well! (ooops....back to the grindstone)

We painted a basement floor to look like ceramic tiles. The paint suppliers recommendation was to etch the concrete with muriatic acid to get good bonding . We did and the paint has not peeled after 6-7 years.

I would not recommend a polished floor. It might get really slippery and the paint likely would not bond as well.