High gloss Geoshine™. Basalt with standard grey base.
This is an ongoing job that Geocrete works on every year. This project was unusual because we were working with pre-existing concrete. The initial concrete consisted of pre-cut slabs made in America and covered in an epoxy coating. This type of coating wears off quickly and needs replacing, but it is a lot cheaper to remove the coating by grinding the epoxy off and chemically hardening the concrete underneath. The hardening is done by an identification process that polishing with a High gloss Geoshine can do. The result is a much longer lasting, industrial strength, factory surface with lower maintenance needs.
In Australia, Kenworth Trucks teamed up with Geocrete and a test sample was conducted on the floor, the results were wonderful. Now, every year over the Christmas shutdown Geocrete will work on around 2000 square meters of concrete in the factory to convert the epoxy floors to the superior polished floors. Currently about 6000 square meters is completed, the project will continue until the entire 14000 square meters of factory flooring is done. We have 9 days to complete the 2000 square meters each year, so we work around 16 hours a day. There is a lot of demolition and preparation that needs doing on the floor before we can even start polishing, so safety equipment for everyone involved is a necessity.
Most existing concrete does not have a nice looking aggregate or oxides, so special concretes with nice oxides or pigmentations is always a good idea if the client wants to have a really nice looking floor. We try to stay away from anything sedimentary because it is softer and does not look as nice. After being in the concrete polishing field for so long I have gained a real knack for knowing what will look good. My background in Geology has been very helpful, I can apply my expertise in rock types and my knowledge of what polishes best to create the beautiful floors.
