Most questions require more information, and therefore more questions. Where do I start? What effect are you looking for? Do you want to see aggregate, do you want a high polish, what type of facility is it, is it a slab on grade or deck and do you want color? If they are looking for a polished floor with high light reflectivity they should start with either a 100 metal or a 100 semi-metal and polish to either an 800 or 1500 resins and finish with an application of the Sher-Crete Sealer for stained and polished concrete. If they want aggregate exposure you start with a lower grit metal and work your way up. The 30 grit diamond is one of the most effective for stock removal as it has the highest concentration of abrasives per square inch. It is important to start with the most aggressive diamond you can and not go any lower than you have too. The first grit does 90% of your work. It is important that this grit be run enough to achieve a uniform scratch pattern. The lower in the process that you start the more steps you have to finish. If you are using a planetary grinder on a slab on deck you may need to cut the floor aggressively in order to flatten enough to polish the low spots. Rotary machines follow the contours a little better than planetaries. Can I skip steps? The answer is of course you can. You can do anything you want to. I don’t recommend skipping steps as the next grit of diamonds removes the previous scratch. If you skip a 200 grit diamond you can not remove the 100 grit scratch with a 400 grit diamond. Even though you can’t see the scratches it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. If you don’t close up the scratch pattern with the proper diamond then the finish will not last as long. Do I have to leave the Concrete Hardener down for 30 minutes? Yes. The longer it is down the better the reaction will be. We ask you to leave it down for 30 minutes to ensure that we achieve proper saturation. Do I have to polish the floor in order to use the Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener? No. Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener is the most cost effective product on the market. It cost less per square foot to use than the least expensive densifier on the market. This is true because of our higher coverage rate, lower labor cost, and no disposal cost. Can I use Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener on any concrete floor? If you pour water on the floor and it soaks into the floor then it can be densified. Polymer modified products such as all self leveling floors do not benefit from the use of densifiers. How do I know if the floor is polymer modified? There are a couple of ways to determine if it is polymer modified. Polymer modified products dent fairly easily, they are also water soluble and dust. How long will the diamonds last? It depends. If you use soft diamonds on soft concrete you may not get 100 square feet. If you use hard diamonds on a hard floor then they may never wear out. Diamonds should wear in order to work. If they last too long they aren’t working, if they wear out too quickly then they cost you too much. On most Trapezoids they should last between 7000 to 12000 square feet per set, on a 3 inch segmented tool they should last between 30,000 to 50,000 square feet per set, semi metals should last 20,000 square feet if they are following a metal in sequence, and resins should last between 12,000 to 20,000 square feet per set. At what point should I apply the Sher-Crete Sealer for Stained and Polished Concrete? The Sher-Crete Sealer for Stained and Polished Concrete should be applied after the 800 grit diamonds and before the 1500 grit diamonds. How fast can I get on the concrete after it has been placed? You can apply the Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener as soon as the trowels have come off the slab. It is best to wait until the slab has cured. The best cure is a seven day wet cure then apply the Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener. Is Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener a cure? NO. It is not a film forming membrane. It can be used prior to the cure but it is not a cure. Do I have to strip the cure and seal prior to application of the Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener? Yes. If water will penetrate into the slab then it can be hardened. If you are going to grind the floor aggressively then you may not need to strip the sealer prior to grinding. If the concrete is too soft can I apply the Concrete Hardener at a lower grit? If the slab is too soft you should apply the Concrete Hardener after the first metal diamond. The good news is that Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener gains strength very quickly and will not delay your job extensively. You should apply the product again after the 200 grit diamonds to ensure that the slab is as hard as you would like it to be. Can I apply the Concrete Hardener after the stain? Yes. Even if you have applied the stain after the 400 grit diamonds the product will still work very effectively. Do I have to rinse the product off the floor? No. You can cut some time off of the clock by grinding your next step while the Concrete Hardener is still wet on the floor. You may want to check to make sure that your diamonds can be run wet. The additional heat will accelerate the chemical reaction and helps to seal the floor. How long do I have to wait after I have applied the Concrete Hardener before I can start grinding again? Keep the product wet for 30 minutes. Then start grinding. Do I keep the product wet with itself or water? Keep the product wet with it self; you can move it with a broom if you want. You can also spray it again with more Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener. Can I wait too long before I grind? Yes. Do not allow the floor to react more than 24 hours before you grind it again. It can become too hard to cut. How often will I need to do this? It depends. Flooring can be affected by cleaning products and procedures as well as concrete conditions. Properly installed and maintained they can last a lifetime. We have floors that were done 10 years ago that look like they were installed last week. There are other floors that were installed six months ago that you can’t tell that anything has ever been done to these floors. If a contractor takes shortcuts the customer will not know the difference until after the check has been cashed. How do we stack up to other products that are used for the same purpose? Refer to spread sheet. How is our Sealer for Stained and Polished Concrete different from other Lithium based sealers? Other materials have to stay dry for 24 to 48 hours after application or they will white out. You should give ours an hour. It should be cut 50 50 with water and burnished with a black stripping pad. Over application can cause the product not to cure out properly. Spray and spread at a rate of 2000 square feet per gallon. Some other products are water soluble after they have been applied. Sher-Crete Sealer for Stained and Polished Concrete is not affected by water after it has cured. How chemical resistance of Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener? Refer to reference guide ACI Standard 302.1R-89 How chemical resistance of Sher-Crete Sealer for Stained and Polished Concrete? Refer to reference guide ACI Standard 302.1R-89, as well excellent resistance to motor oil, hydraulic oil, and skydrol. How does Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener compare to other concrete hardeners in its ability to increase abrasion resistance? Independent testing has shown that Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener is twice as effective as the next best chemical hardener. Can I incorporate Color into the concrete when I am using Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener? You can use a water based stain, acetone based dye, or an acid based stain when using the Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener. Unlike other materials it does not have the tendency to lift the dyes out of the concrete. It also does not change the color of the concrete so it does not change the color of the stained floor. Will the Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener inhibit the ability of a coating to adhere to a floor? No. Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener does not build a film or affect the surface of the slab. Unlike other concrete hardeners, Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener does not produce sodium hydroxide so it will not cause coating failures. Are polished floors more slippery than unpolished floors? No. Polished concrete floors are considered to be a high friction floor. They can have a higher coefficient of friction wet than they do when they are dry. Will Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener stop ASR? No it is not a lithium based material. Does Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener contribute to craze cracking and ASR? No. Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener does not sodium or potassium and does not increase the alkalinity of the slab or contribute to ASR. Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener will not contribute to surface sweating syndrome. How deep does Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener penetrate into the concrete? Sher-Crete Concrete Hardener penetrates concrete approximately 1/8 of an inch.