Polished Concrete - The Complete Guide 2025 - Advance Industrial Coatings

What is Polished Concrete Floor?

Polished concrete is concrete that has been processed through a series of mechanically ground "polishing/grinding" steps utilizing professional equipment designed for concrete polishing. This process also includes the use of a concrete densifier/hardener which penetrates into the concrete and creates a chemical reaction to help harden and dustproof the surface. During concrete polishing, the surface is processed through a series of steps (in general, a minimum of 6-8 grinding steps of processing is considered polished concrete) utilizing progressively finer grinding tools. The grinding tools are progressive grits of industrial diamonds in a bonded material such as metal/hybrid/resin often referred to as diamond polishing pads.

Concrete is not considered well polished before 800 grit, and it is normally finished to either the 800, 1500, or 3000 grit level. Dyes designed for concrete polishing are often applied to add color to polished concrete as well as other options such as scoring, creating radial lines, grids, bands, borders, and other designs.

Why Choose Polished Concrete Flooring?

Simply put, a polished concrete floor system transforms a porous concrete floor into a tightened surface, dense enough to keep water, oil, and other contaminants from penetrating the surface.

Here are some of the benefits of concrete floor polishing:

Here is our blog post for you to learn more about the Pros and Cons of Polished Concrete.

Currently, the industry breaks down the process of polished concrete into grinding and polishing. Some simply use the word "polishing" for the whole process. Each phase is then broken down into multiple steps, consisting of consecutively finer grit abrasives. Every step is refined to its purest possible form on a microscopic level from one progressively finer abrasive to the next until the desired level of 'polishing' is achieved.

The RetroPlate Concrete Polishing System we used and recommended follows these basic steps performed by certified applicators ensuring that every floor turns out just right.

The first step is to grind the floor with industrial strength diamonds. Grinding removes imperfections, marks and scratches, and exposes bare concrete by removing existing coating or mastic. Grinding can be light to heavy depending on the desired level of exposed aggregate.

Add style and personality to your polished concrete floors with an array of color options. Achieve any look and style with full color floors, custom logos or unique patterns. Color options for polished concrete include: integral color, dry shake and topical dyes and stains.

The next step is to densify the floor with RetroPlate. RetroPlate penetrates the concrete and chemically reacts to harden and densify the floor by filling-in pores and creating a dense surface. Densification is key to the long-term benefits of polished concrete. Many densifiers on the market claim to work for polished concrete, but there is only one RetroPlate.

The final step is to polish the floor with progressively finer diamond grits. This polishing procedure is what produces the floor's sheen. A floor can be polished to a flat (ground), satin (honed), polished or highly polished finish. Adding color or seeded material allows for unlimited possibilities in design.

Recent advances in polishing equipment and techniques have allowed concrete to be ground, honed, and polished to a high polish with clarity of reflection and depth. The process is performed with large planetary head machines where the main head rotates in one direction and smaller satellite heads spin in the opposite direction.

The result is a beautiful, durable and efficient surface that eliminates the need for carpets or tile that requires expensive replacement, maintenance, and use of harsh cleaning chemicals.

There are many options available for different Polished Concrete designs. Different Aggregate Exposure, different Clarity of Reflection, and different dyed Color will change the visual aspects and physical characteristics of your polished concrete floor significantly. So know your options and potential outcomes before you make choices.

Depending on the diamond grit used to polish a concrete floor, you can achieve different levels of sheen, from matte to a glassy mirror-like finish. Here are the four levels of polishing and the degree of shine you can expect to achieve at each level.

Level 1 Flat (Ground) - Image Clarity Value 0-9%
A level 1 ground polish usually can be obtained by stopping below the 100-grit resin bond. When you look directly down at the floor, it will appear somewhat hazy with little if any clarity or reflection.

Level 2 Satin (Honed) - Image Clarity Value 10-39%
A level 2 honed polish is obtained by stopping at the 400-grit resin bond, producing a low-sheen finish. When you look directly down at the finished floor and at a distance of roughly 100 feet, you can start to see a slight overhead reflection. This grit level produces a low-luster matte finish.

Level 3 Polished - Image Clarity Value 40-69%
A level 3 polish is achieved by going up to an 800-grit or higher diamond abrasive. The surface will have a much higher sheen than that of level 2 finish, and you'll start to see good light reflectivity. At a distance of 30 to 50 feet, the floor will clearly reflect side and overhead lighting.

Level 4 Highly Polished - Image Clarity Value 70-100%
This level of polish produces a high degree of shine so that when standing directly over the surface, you can see your reflection with total clarity. Also, the floor appears to be wet when viewed from different vantage points. A level 4 polish is obtained by going up to a 3,000-grit resin-bond diamond or by burnishing the floor with a high-speed burnisher outfitted with specialty buffing pads.

How to color or dye concrete? There are 6 ways concrete is colored:

Different manufacturers offer different coloring choices to polished concrete customers. Here is the 24 stock colors covering the most common color choices seen in floors today offered by Ameripolish. Custom colors are available upon request.

Polished Concrete Dye Colors

Polished Concrete project cost can vary widely based on factors including concrete condition, job size and location, aggregate exposure, gross level and coloring selection etc. For a fairly smooth floor, that requires only a few levels of grinding, $4 sq. ft. is the basic cost for a polished concrete floor. If the floor requires more in-depth grinding or includes coloring with stains and dyes or other special finish designs, then the price ranges between $4-$8 sq. ft.

Smaller residential floors tend to be a bit higher in price because of the requirement for smaller equipment, which will relatively lower work efficiency and special design requirements.

Unfortunately, NOT all concrete is a good candidate for concrete polishing. When working on existing concrete, results largely depend on the concrete quality a contractor is given to work with.

Most existing commercial concrete that is of sufficient strength and hardness will allow for excellent results.

Variables such as aggregate, color variations, miscellaneous contaminates, cracks, patterns left by previous floor covering, existing stains, nail holes, patched areas, and flatness can affect the final appearance and results significantly.

A slab newly poured based on specifications designed for polished concrete finish will eliminate a significant number of variables and provide improved finish results over an existing finished concrete slab.

For projects in the early design phase incorporating a polished concrete floor finish, the Concrete Polishing Council (formerly CPAA) of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) advises including their design and construction recommendations in the Division 03 cast-in-place concrete specifications, as prepared by the project's structural engineer.

Download the PDF version of this Polished Concrete Recommended Spec Here.

Because of polished concrete's unique shine and high reflectivity, many people question if it is slippery. Generally speaking, when the concrete is clean and dry, it is generally no more slippery than plain concrete surfaces. In fact, polished concrete tends to be less slippery than waxed linoleum or polished marble.

There are also anti-slip conditioners that can be applied to a polished concrete floor for extra protection against accidents. The special additives in these products are designed to improve traction and make wet surfaces safer. No additional cleaning is required, but normally it needs to be reapplied periodically.

Certain Concrete Polishing Systems can fall within OSHA and ADA recommendations for coefficient of friction.

Click here to review the RetroPlate Coefficient of Friction Testing Report.

The floor can be used immediately. There is no drying or waiting time.

This depends entirely upon the preparation and layout of the floor. Application time will be increased by factors such as extensive racking, machinery to work around, removal of a coating, heavy grinding, or other construction or building-related obstacles. We will be happy to look at a floor and layout and give an accurate application time estimate.

Maintenance for polished concrete is very minimal. However, regular cleaning is still needed. Regular care includes occasional damp mopping to remove dust or grit. You may also consider using some neutral cleaner and conditioner that cleans the surface and leaves behind a dirt-resistant film.

Except for high traffic areas, polished concrete will keep its shine for years. If it should ever dull, it is easy to restore. Sometimes simply buffing the floor with a commercial polishing compound will do the trick. If more touch-up is necessary, the floors can be lightly re-polished with a fine-grit abrasive.

AI Coating also offers Polished Concrete Maintenance Programs tailored to meet each customer's long-term concrete polishing maintenance needs. Our polished concrete maintenance programs range from Full-Service Solutions to Self-Service with Support Programs.

Yes. No solvents or volatile organic compounds are used in the concrete polishing process. It is an odorless, non-flammable, and non-hazardous system.

No. concrete polishing is a chemical and mechanical reaction with the concrete itself. When the application is finished, the concrete is still bare, but it has gone through a chemical and mechanical process to protect, harden, and polish the surface. The beauty of the system is that the concrete is protected and polished, yet there is no coating to peel, scratch, or wear.

Generally, polished concrete flooring is not recommended where strong acids will come in contact with the floor. However, these are generally very small portions of a facility and the remainder of the floor could still be polished.

Contact us and ask any questions about our concrete polishing services. We'd like to help!