Polishing Concrete (Interior)

[downshift_me]

My floors are in need of polishing or the "wet look" and I'm curious has anyone done it themselves, have a hook up or a "go to" company for this?

I've had someone tell me they just take a cheapo mop and get a couple gallons of the wet look type stuff from Lowes and go around their furniture every so often and call it good. I was also just quoted about $800-$900 for someone to come out and do it for me. Is that about right?

We're talking around 1800sqft.

[GeorgeG.]

are we talking non-stained concrete? Has it been sealed and it's just wearing off? I used Tile Lab (big yellow jug) from Home Depot for my slate tile floor. It gives it the "wet" look once you apply it. I think I noticed it wearing off after about a couple of years. To re-apply, just scrub the floors really good with water and a scrub brush, ***forgot to add to suck it up with a wet vac*** let dry and re-apply. You could use it on concrete also I suppose.

Now if you're talking about applying over stained concrete, there's definately better, longer lasting stuff. I stained our game room and sealed it with an acrylic (i think) sealer that also brings out the true color of the stain. It's very durable. But the results on this would vary depending on what's been done to your floor, IMO.

[downshift_me]

are we talking non-stained concrete? Has it been sealed and it's just wearing off? I used Tile Lab (big yellow jug) from Home Depot for my slate tile floor. It gives it the "wet" look once you apply it. I think I noticed it wearing off after about a couple of years. To re-apply, just scrub the floors really good with water and a scrub brush, let dry and re-apply. You could use it on concrete also I suppose.

Now if you're talking about applying over stained concrete, there's definately better, longer lasting stuff. I stained our game room and sealed it with an acrylic (i think) sealer that also brings out the true color of the stain. It's very durable. But the results on this would vary depending on what's been done to your floor, IMO.

Okay, let me try to explain this the best way it was explained to me, but I am also not taking this person's word 100% due to the fact he is an idiot and not mechanically inclined plus lacks common sense. I was told it is plain ol' concrete and they put a sealer on top which is where the brown color comes from is when the sealer dries over it. I asked about buying the concrete stain from HD or Lowes and touching up a few spots and he told me that it would look like paint on the floor and wouldn't be anything near what I have. Plus, it would chip up. He told me to dump buckets of water with simple green on the floor, scrub it and vacuum it up with the wet vac; Then, apply the wet look with a cheap mop and stay off of it for 12 hours.

Disclaimer: My job is just to keep the floors clean when I'm not in the kitchen and not know exactly what I'm talking about as long as they're clean, but I just want my shiny floors back before the holidays!

[GeorgeG.]

Sealer will just make concrete look wet, or shiny. I don't think it'll change the color at all. It almost sounds like your floor is stained and was just applied with a low grade sealer. Whatever you do, do not use the HD or Lowes stain...it's actually more of a pigment than stain....it's junk.

Can you post of pic of what you're working with? This would definately help.