If it wasn’t for the burnishing process, polished concrete floors would be dull and lackluster. The process can be an excellent choice for warehouses that need a smooth floor or for residential interior concrete floors.
Burnish refers to the finish. A burnished finish requires troweling the slab to the point where it appears very smooth and glossy.
How to Burnish Concrete:
- Apply a concrete densifier. The concrete densifier will increase the strength and density of the concrete substrate before polishing.
- Polish the concrete.
- Burnish the surface using a burnishing machine with a certain level of grit pad. If this is your first time burnishing, you need to begin with a 1500-or 2000-grit pad. A higher grit count will ultimately result in a glossier concrete surface.
While the process is not difficult, be sure to proceed slowly and with caution. Over-burnishing your concrete surface can result in a nasty and unpleasant visual faade, as well as potential structural deficiencies. However, if you slowly run the burnishing machine over the concrete surface evenly, you will be fine. However, the number of times can depend on your own discretion, though the more frequent the burnishing, the more glossy the surface.
Burnishing is the final step in the polishing process to bring out the glossy sheen of polished concrete.
Lithi-Tek 4500 is the most advanced concrete densifier available. This clear penetrating sealer not only densifies and hardens concrete making it up to 50% stronger, but it the go to choice to harden and prime basements and driveways. Because of its lithium silicate based chemistry, it is also an excellent choice to strenghten concrete floors before polishing.
