How Do You Make Concrete Smooth?
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- čas přidán 24. 11. 2022
- It can be challenging to make concrete smooth if you don't already know a process for it. Here are three ways to make concrete smooth when working with it: troweling, step-sanding and pouring directly onto plastic. These three ways of smoothing concrete can help make working with concrete at home easier.
Troweling concrete smooth is quite difficult if you do not have a lot of experience. Smoothing with a trowel requires experience and knowledge of exactly when to trowel the concrete and how to smooth it without over-working it. It can be made smooth with troweling, but not nearly as smooth as placing the concrete directly onto a smooth plastic surface or by step-sanding.
Placing wet concrete onto a smoothed plastic surface makes an very smooth finished concrete product. With good consolidation, the finished product will be shiny and smooth, almost like a mirror finish. This is a great way to make smooth concrete for projects such as table tops or counter tops.
Step-sanding is very effective for making concrete smooth. Using a variable speed angle grinder and step-sanding pads, the concrete goes from rough to smooth. The diamond grit polishing pads range from very rough (50 grit) to extremely smooth (3000 grit) as well as a buffer pad. Step-sanding allows you to get a mirror-like finish. This is a good option for smoothing concrete yourself since these tools are widely available and can be used repeatedly for many projects.
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Thanks for video!
I just installed fiberglass pool but it has concrete around the top and I want to "soften" sone of the corners and fill some small holes in that concrete. the softening of the edges will need some grinding and then come over that with light coat of concrete.. I want all this to match the color of the existing concrete. Can you assist with some advice?
Thank you for providing all things specfic regarding concrete. What do you recommend to seal a concrete countertop after step-sanding? would an epoxy based sealer adhere to a polished surface or even necessary?
It is my understanding that you should use bees wax on a polished countertop to seal it with a food grade material.
Great videos, going to implement alot of this knowledge on my next project ! Any angle grinders that you can recommend for a reasonable price that will actually get the job done?
variable speed! that is the defining thing you need for concrete grinding and step polishing
@@creatingconcrete I saw you mentioned that in the video but I meant do you recommend a specific brand?
Thanks for the tremendously helpful videos. Questions: okay, so you say the transition point to look for is when initially troweled concrete loses the glossy, watery sheen, & develops a matte, hazy look. This is the point when you want to trowel for a smooth finish. Does this apply to all variations in viscosity of the concrete- such as thick concrete mix used in hand building as well as pouring concrete into a form (such as a decorative garden stepping stone)? Does this apply to concrete where superplasticizer/ water reducer has been added?
Notes to remember 2 additional ways to smooth concrete: pour onto smooth plastic. step diamond polishing wheels for variable speed angle grinder that is built to handle wet grinding.
Yes, pretty much all concrete applications will not be able to receive a quality finish upon placement. The length of time before re-troweling is what will change between different mix designs, slab thickness etc.
You're awesome. Thank you so much for the assistance. It is greatly appreciated. @@creatingconcrete
I just saw the qualifier "not" in your response. I assume that was a mistake? LOL. @@creatingconcrete
Question: could you share your opinion if you think it would work to use a variable speed flex shaft rotary tool/ (die grinder) with 2" or 3" step diamond polishing disks for this wet polishing (since the motor is far from the handle)?
It is very hard to get a consistent surface profile. If you are doing the work by hand then you will likely not hold even pressure. This is why the grinders used for step sanding / grinding have a flat surface profile so you can rest the tool right on the flat surface you are grinding...and even that is very hard to do with even pressure. So it could potentially be done, but likely not consistent results.
Concrete has no end of peculiarities that I keep discovering. LOL. Thanks for the help!@@creatingconcrete
Nice videos! How... do you make exactly the same quality of surface as at 12 second of your video? :)
that is from concrete poured into a plastic mold and vibrated thoroughly. When you cast concrete on smooth plastic you can get some really smooth and shiny concrete finishes.
What if you are building a bowl out of concrete?
Sand it but it won’t be easy.
@@michaeladams2077 I think I figured that out a while ago
@@michaeladams2077 took 5 hours of sanding
Concrete thin as a bowl will break easily. Don’t bother to polish it.
What happens if you put plastic on the top or sides of the concrete form? Do those surfaces come out smooth as well?
Any concrete poured on or against concrete will be extremely smooth when it cures
@@creatingconcrete Thanks so much Steve!
A few follow up questions for ya...😉
1.)What would happen if I were to make a cube-shaped form out of plexiglass, seal the edges, apply a release agent and slurry coat to the inner surfaces and underside of lid, pour in my mix and then seal it completely? Would I be left with a smooth solid concrete cube?
1a.) In this scenario, would it be helpful to use a floating lid set inside the walls, to allow for shrinkage/expansion?
1b.) If I used foam concrete in this setup, would it still be possible to get a smooth solid surface layer that is properly adhered to the internal foam concrete?
Can you recommend an angle grinder?
Bosch is my brand of choice, but I would say paying more for a variable speed angle grinder of any brand is probably worth it
what if casting the concrete with a zinc sheet mold? will the surface also smooth? If mixed ration is 1:2:3, how to make sure the gravel doesn't appear at the surface?
what if you pour it into a silicone mold?
would it be smooth?
@@BmadCreative207 It would be, especially if your silicone mold is very smooth. Like if you case smooth plastic with silicone for example, when you cast the mortar versions they should be extremely smooth.