
Polished Concrete Flooring
A lifetime floor, polished concrete is great way to get that professional, modern, and highly durable look that captures the eye. Through the process of mechanically honing and chemically densifying the concrete stone surface so tight that it is sealed onto itself.
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Types of finishes for Polished Concrete Flooring
There are essentially 3 types of finishes produced when looking to polish concrete flooring. The easiest way to understand it is to think of finishes in terms of more work put into finishing the longer lasting and more resilient it will be. See below for types of finishes and to learn more about polished concrete flooring.

Industrial Finish
Generally working up to about a 400-800 grit finish, the Industrial Finish provides a smooth finish with minimal reflection and little to no aggregate showing. Perfect for industrial or high traffic commercial use.
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Lower Cost Option
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Low Cost Maintenance
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Slip Resistant
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Spill Resistant
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Eco-Option/LEED Certified
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Highly Durable
Commercial Finish
Generally working up to about an 1500 grit finish, the Commercial Finish provides a smooth finish with a more mirror-like reflection and often scattered small aggregate showing. Perfect for industrial, commercial, and residential.
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Low Lifetime Cost
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Easy Clean Up & Maintenance
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Slip & Spill Resistant
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Eco-Option/LEED Certified
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Highly Durable
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Abrasion Resistant


Premium Finish
Generally working up to about a 3000 grit finish, the Premium Finish provides a mirror-like reflection. The Terrazzo look is often exposed aggregate with a premium finish. This is a showroom finish where design qualities and reflectivity are a priority.
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Lowest Lifetime Cost
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Easy Clean Up & Maintenance
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Highly Spill Resistant
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Eco-Option/LEED Certified
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Highly Durable
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High Abrasion Resistance
Types of Aggregate Exposure Levels
With polished concrete, there are essentially 4 aggregate exposure levels. As the concrete is profiled deeper, more aggregate is exposed, creating different looks. Each desired look depends on concrete.
Cream Cut
Minimal Grind-Polish

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Great for Stained Area
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Uniform Coloring
(No Finish is Ever
100% Uniform)
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Less Time Consuming
Salt & Pepper Cut
About 1/16inch Depth

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Scattered Look for Unique Finish
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Scattered Size Exposure
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Less Time Consuming
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Great for Staining
Med. Aggregate
About 1/8inch Depth

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Larger Scattered Look
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More Regular Exposure Size
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Can be Time Consuming
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Great for Staining
Lrg. Aggregate
About 1/4inch Depth

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Large Scattered Terrazzo Type Look
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Noticeably Unique Look
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Can be Time Consuming
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Great for Staining
What is Polished Flooring?
First to explain polishing; polishing is the act of honing a surface to tighter, smoother, surface which is often more reflective to light and denser the tighter the surface. Mechanically polishing concrete is basically using diamond infused metal, resin, and other materials pads in incremental steps from course to fine, with chemical densifiers and sealants, as well as fillers, to polish the concretes surface.
What is the process of Polished Concrete Flooring?
Depending on the level of sheen or gloss desired, the actual steps it takes to polish a concrete floor from start to finish vary from 10-15 steps in total. The process begins with mechanically grinding with metal bonded diamonds to open up the surface, then patching and filling cracks and imperfections as needed/desired, then cleaning up patch work by grinding with metal or ceramic bonded diamonds, then honing the surface using ceramic or hybrid bonded diamonds, application of a lithium silicate or calcium silicate (or a combination of the two) densifier to the substrate and allow to cure, then the polishing phase begins using resin bonded diamonds, lastly we apply an added layer stain resistor to the substrate and burnish (or not depending on desired look, burnish creates a high gloss effect). The more durable a floor is to be means the more steps in the process. Main factors which influence the amount of steps in the process, as well as time to accomplish each step, are influenced by substrate condition, weather conditions, and types of concrete.
![]() Exposure and Gloss ViewExample | ![]() Premium FinishResidental | ![]() Commercial FinishIndustrial | ![]() Industrial FinishCommercial | ![]() Premium FinishCommercial |
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![]() Commercial FinishCommercial | ![]() Commercial FinishCommercial | ![]() Commercial FinishCommercial |