A Scientific Approach to Polishing Concrete
The ability to measure scratch patterns and how they relate to quantifying the various stages of a polished concrete floor will remove the guesswork from the polishing equation.
- Measurements taken after fully refined base grit
- Take X number of readings per X square feet
- Throw out the highest and the lowest readings
- Two readings per grit must fall within the Required Range
- No reading may exceed the Max. Reading
Class A Refinement
Resin Required Max.
Grit Range Reading
50 95-120 165
100 50-75 100
200 25-35 80
400 10-15 40
800 9-13 30
1500 5-9 20
Class C Refinement
Resin Required Max.
Grit Range Reading
50 120-145 215
100 75-100 130
200 35-45 130
400 15-20 90
800 13-18 90
1500 9-13 80
A colleague has suggested another way to use this data would be to determine base readings and each consecutive grit must show an improvement of X percentage.
More testing needs to be performed to determine if the profile meter is a viable instrument for the concrete polishing industry. It is mind boggling to sit back and think of all the variables that would have to be tested to determine their effects on the data, but do not be negative and simply say there are too many variables to consider. Now is the time to embrace our industry and new ideas and elevate the concrete polishing industry to the next level within the flooring industry.
Being able to deliver quantifiable results would not only elevate the status of polished concrete within the flooring industry but also put polishing contractors on a level playing field when bidding and provide more consistent results from one polishing contractor to the next. Quantifiable results in the concrete polishing industry will also push abrasive manufacturers to produce abrasives that deliver measurable results in a shorter amount of time and push equipment manufacturers to develop equipment that most efficiently moves abrasives so they work at their peak performance. Furthermore, I believe a detailed understanding of scratch patterns will lead us to see that slip coefficient can be changed through scratch pattern manipulation. How much is yet to be seen, but this testing research is next on my agenda.
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