Diamond Polished Concrete
For home owners and businessmen alike, there is an elegant solution to the challenge of maintaining clean floors while being cost-effective. That solution is diamond-polished concrete, which is tough enough to withstand great punishment while requiring very little investment in the polishing process. Additionally, it has a beautiful finish that is almost mirror-like in appearance. Seeing a polished concrete surface, you might very well be fooled into thinking it has a smooth epoxy coating when in fact it has none. You may even think you're standing on top of a hugely expensive investment, when on the contrary it is relatively cheap.
To explain how concrete polishing works, one has to keep in mind that most hard materials can be polished to a fine shine given enough delicate friction and patience. For example, dorodangos are Japanese mud balls that are polished by hand through the rubbing of cloths over a rough sandy surface with finer particles added to fill in microscopic pores. Over a very long period of time, this eventually this creates a marble in which you can see your reflection.
The same principle applies to concrete, except that the process is much faster and more reliable. Instead of rubbing it by hand, it is rubbed with large electric floor polishers equipped with rotating diamond-embedded disks, starting with rough grits and progressing onward toward finer grits over time. Eventually the floor is exposed to a densifier that reacts with the concrete to form a crystalline surface, after which the polishing process continues until a beautiful sheen is reached. The result is a floor smooth enough to resist being permanently scuffed by rubber wheels and shoes and is impressive enough for use in home decoration.
Diamond-polished concrete is now a popular alternative to the more expensive flooring materials and is quickly finding acceptance among those who wish to avoid the use of chemicals to have a lasting shine. Additionally, it also makes for a great table or countertop surface that can mimic aesthetic properties found in marble. It turns out that when concrete meets diamond, its a perfect marriage of cost and beauty. What a great idea!
About the Author
George Pettit is a SEO and home improvement specialist from Australia. He writes about various home improvement topics such as polished concrete, concrete grinding , Epoxy coatings and concrete sealing
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