Method for hardening and polishing concrete floors, walls, and the like

Abstract

A method of both hardening and polishing a concrete surface includes the steps of first applying to the concrete surface a hardening/densifying silicate compound, allowing the compound to remain in contact with the surface for a period of time sufficient to allow it to soak into the surface of the concrete, cleaning the surface and allowing it to dry, and polishing the surface with a diluted silicate polishing compound. The polishing step includes the steps of applying to the concrete surface a diluted silicate polishing compound, mechanically polishing the concrete surface with a rotary polishing machine, using pads or disks or drums, cleaning the concrete surface, and repeating said steps with polishing pads or disks of increasingly finer grit until the surface obtains an aesthetically desirable level of shine.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A method of hardening and polishing a concrete surface comprising the steps of: 
       (a) applying to the concrete surface a hardening/densifying silicate compound;  
       (b) allowing the compound to remain in contact with the surface for a period of time sufficient to allow the compound to soak into the surface of the concrete;  
       (c) removing any puddles and allowing the surface to dry;  
       (d) applying to the concrete surface a diluted silicate polishing compound; and  
       (e) mechanically polishing the concrete surface with a rotating diamond abrasive disk or drum.  
     
     
       2. The method as described in  claim 1  wherein the hardening/densifying silicate compound is applied at a rate of about one gallon per 40 to 20 square feet of concrete surface. 
     
     
       3. The method as described in  claim 1  wherein the hardening/densifying silicate compound is allowed to remain in contact with the concrete surface for a period of from 30 to 60 minutes. 
     
     
       4. The method as described in  claim 1  wherein the diluted silicate polishing compound comprises water and silicate compound in a ratio of approximately 10 to 1. 
     
     
       5. The method as described in  claim 1  wherein the hardening/densifying silicate compound comprises water and silicate compound in a ration of approximately 3 to 1. 
     
     
       6. The method as described in  claim 1  wherein the diluted silicate polishing compound comprises water and silicate compound in a ratio of approximately 10 to 1. 
     
     
       7. The method as described in  claim 1  wherein the surface is mechanically polished by means of a rotating polishing disk, drum or pad. 
     
     
       8. The method as described in  claim 1  wherein the silicate compounds are selected from the group consisting of sodium silicate, zinc fluorosilicate, and magnesium fluorosilicate. 
     
     
       9. The method of polishing a concrete surface comprising the steps of: 
       (a) applying to the concrete surface a diluted silicate polishing compound;  
       (b) mechanically polishing the concrete surface to which the compound has been applied with a rotating diamond- impregnated abrasive pad, disk, or drum;    
       (c) cleaning the concrete surface;  
       (d) applying the concrete surface more of said diluted silicate polishing compound;  
       (e) mechanically polishing the concrete surface with a rotating diamond- impregnated  polishing pad, disk, or drum having a less rough grit than was used in the previous polishing step; and  
       (f) repeating steps (c) through (e) until, upon cleaning, the surface has the desired level of shine.  
     
     
       10. The method as described in  claim 9  wherein the diluted silicate polishing compound comprises water and silicate compound in a ratio of approximately 10 to 1. 
     
     
       11. The method as described  claim 9  wherein the diluted silicate polishing compound is applied at a rate of one gallon per 100 to 300 square feet of concrete surface. 
     
     
       12. The method as described in  claim 9  wherein the surface is mechanically polished by means of a rotating polishing disk, drum or pad. 
     
     
       13. The method as described in  claim 9  wherein said polishing pads, disks, or drums are in a grit coarseness range of about 50 to 1800. 
     
     
       14. The method of honing and polishing a rough, irregular concrete surface comprising the steps of: 
       (a) cleaning the surface;  
       (b) honing the surface with a rough grit honing disk, using water as a lubricant, so as to produce a substantially smooth, even surface. ; 
       (c) cleaning the surface and allowing it to dry. ; 
       (d) applying to the concrete surface a hardening/densifying silicate compound;  
       (e) allowing the hardening/densifying silicate compound to remain in contact with the surface for a period of time sufficient to allow the silicate hardening/densifying compound to soak into the surface of the concrete; and  
       (g) mechanically polishing the concrete surface with a rotating diamond abrasive disk or drum.  
     
     
       15. The method described in  claim 14  wherein the surface is mechanically polished by means of a rotating polishing disk, drum or pad. 
     
     
       16. The method described in  claim 14  further comprising the steps of: 
       (h) cleaning the concrete surface;  
       (i) applying to the concrete surface a diluted silicate polishing compound;  
       (j) mechanically polishing the concrete surface with a rotating diamond polishing pad, disk or drum having a less rough grit than was used in the previous polishing step; and  
       (k) repeating steps (h) through (j) until, upon cleaning, the surface has the desired level of shine.  
     
     
       17. The method as described in  claim 16 , further comprising removing existing coating before honing and polishing the surface, said method comprising the preliminary steps of: 
       (i) abrading the surface with a coarse rotating grinder disk; and  
       (ii) applying a chemical stripper to remove any remaining part of the coating.  
     
     
       18. The method described in  claim 17  wherein the surface is mechanically polished by means of a rotating polishing disk or drum or pad. 
     
     
       19. The method described in claim  18   17 wherein said polishing pads, disks or drums are in a grit coarseness range of about 50 to 800. 
     
     
       20. A method of removing and leveling soft, porous, carbonated concrete from a surface and polishing the surface, said method comprising the steps of: 
       (a) abrading and removing the soft surface with a coarse rotating grinder;  
       (b) cleaning the surface and allowing it to dry;  
       (c) applying to the concrete surface a silicate hardening/densifying compound;  
       (d) allowing the silicate hardening/densifying compound to remain in contact with the surface for a period of time sufficient to allow the silicate hardening/densifying compound to soak into the surface of the concrete;  
       (e) allowing the surface to dry thoroughly, removing any puddles;  
       (f) mechanically polishing the concrete surface with a rotating diamond abrasive disk or drum;  
       (g) cleaning the concrete surface;  
       (h) applying to the concrete surface a diluted silicate polishing compound;  
       (i) mechanically polishing the concrete surface with a rotating diamond polishing pad, disk or drum having a less rough grit than was used in the previous polishing step; and  
       (j) repeating steps (f) through (h) until, upon cleaning, the surface has the desired level of shine.