Polished concrete flooring is one of the hottest trends for homeowners and business owners alike. Thanks to recent advancements in equipment and technology, the process of polishing concrete is more efficient and economical than ever. Concrete surfaces, both old and new, can be polished to a high-luster finish. When compared to other types of flooring: marble, tile, linoleum, wood, and coated concrete, polished concrete is more durable and better performing. Polished concrete never needs waxing and is therefore low maintenance as well.

Aesthetically pleasing, polished concrete flooring has a striking high-luster appearance. The exposure of the aggregate in the substrate reveals beautiful textures and natural-looking patterns. It can also be stained or colorized in some other way to achieve a one-of-a-kind look that resembles natural stone.

One of the keys to achieving a beautiful high-luster polished concrete floor is to obtain a less porous concrete substrate. This is the job of a product known as a concrete densifier or colloidal silica densifier. Concrete densifiers have been around for nearly 100 years and are specifically designed for this task.

Modern concrete densifiers contain microscopic colloidal silica particles suspended in a low-tension liquid. When the densifier is applied to concrete, it is immediately absorbed into the concrete’s pores. The colloidal silica reacts with the soft calcium in the concrete. This reaction creates a new hard material that is not water-soluble and expands to fills the pores in the concrete. The newly hardened concrete will take a better polish and is more durable providing better abrasion resistance.

Hermetix Densifier is Duraamen’s high-performance concrete densifier product. It penetrates more deeply and reacts faster than other brands. Once applied, it starts working in 1-2 minutes. After the application, there is nothing to broom off and nothing to dispose of. Hermetix is non-hazardous as well.

To obtain an ultra-high luster, it is recommended that a colloidal silica finishing conditioner is also applied to the finished floor. Hermetix Shield is Duraamen’s protective finishing conditioner that further hardens the polished concrete by adding additional colloidal silica while helping to protect the finished floor with specifically engineered polymers.