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Am I the only one who thought power trowel polish was overrated until a 40x60 slab in Wichita changed my mind
I had a 40x60 slab pour in Wichita last month and the GC kept pushing me to burn it in with the trowel for a polished look instead of bringing in a grinder. I ignored him for two days because I figured it would just look wavy and cheap, but he finally talked me into a test section by the loading dock. Burned it in with the trowel while the concrete was still green and that thing came out darker and harder than anything I have ground after the fact. Anyone else running trowel polish on flatwork, or do you all still wait and grind it later?
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gonzalez.mia21h ago
Kept thinking trowel polish was just a shortcut guys used when they didn't want to pay for a grinder, so I skipped it for years on my own pours. Then a guy I sub for had me burn a 30x40 shop slab while it was still green and the difference hit me right away. The surface came out tight and dark, almost like a hard trowel finish but with more depth, and it soaked up sealer way better than the ground stuff. I tested it side by side with a section I ground later and the trowel side was harder under a scraper, no question. You do have to time it right or you get swirl marks and burn spots, so it is not foolproof. I still grind when the mix or weather fights me, but on flatwork I now burn it in first and only grind if it looks bad.
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