Sealed vs Polished Concrete – Choosing the Right Finish!

You all want that glistening starry-like flooring for all your bashing properties. That is why you might be researching like a madman about the options you could adopt for your concrete flooring. You might want more than a wooden finish or a tiled surface. Therefore we are here to introduce you to a new set of options you could consider. Today we will discuss the constant and infuriating battle: sealed vs. polished concrete. We will first discuss the initial definitions of these two methods while looking for the more durable option.

What is Sealed Concrete, and How does It Differ from Polished Concrete?

First, we will review the definitions of sealed and polished concrete floors.

Polished Concrete Flooring

• This flooring option is a mechanical process that includes a combination of different processes containing grounding, honing, and polishing by utilizing tiny grits of diamond coarse. These processes are done using floor grinders that are equipped with diamond abrasives. Moreover, with polished concrete flooring, there are levels of shine that you can reach.

1. Soft matte finish
2. Low sheen finish
3. Medium gloss finish
4. High gloss finish

Sealed Concrete Flooring

• The name speaks for itself. The floor is going to be ground and coated with a topical sealing sealer like a face covered with a concealer that covers up all that grin of all-night you pulled for the finals. The topical sealers used for this process are often made using acrylic, epoxy, and polyurethane.

Which is More Durable: Sealed or Polished Concrete?

Determination of the durability of the sealed or the polished concrete directly is based on how the particular floor is used, with what, or in which way. Moreover, the size of the floor will also be a significant factor that will affect the durability of the flooring option.

When it comes to hardening, dust proofing, and a guarantee of scratch resistance finish, polished floors give you much bigger durability and comfort than polished floors with low maintenance.

However, when it comes to grease, oils, stains, and animal secretion, sealed concrete gives you full satisfaction. Therefore the combination of both these methods will give your floors a long-lasting durability of shine and life.

Can Sealed Concrete be Polished, or Vice Versa?

As much as we want it to be true, we can neither polish sealed concrete nor seal polished concrete. Though both options might look similar or be identified mostly by the same technical name, their appearances and shines are approached using unique ways that are special to the option itself.

Polished concrete achieves its shine by grinding and honing the floor surface multiple times until the shine levels up a bit by bit. However, the sealed concrete floors achieve shine through an installed topical sealant.

However, you must know that it is nearly impossible to afford both looks in a single flooring mode. Hence, you can differentiate the installment of flooring bit by bit from room to room, depending on its usage.

What are the Benefits of Sealing Concrete Surfaces?

After all these hours of research finding the best option to cover your floors, you can still find your ideal floor covers. Hence, we come to you with the benefits of sealed concrete surfaces, which will be an added advantage to you as the researcher.

• The surface protected through a sealer has high stain and chemical resistance, so it is often recommended for commercial and industrial building floor surfaces.
• Moreover, sealed concrete surfaces are easier to install than polished surfaces, as the steps are very easy to execute.
• The sealant used in this method provides the floor a high glow which will never be a con as long as you need your floor to look brighter and better than ever.
• Furthermore, this method of installing flooring on concrete is much more cost-effective for the basic installation of the sealant and the grinding.

Does Sealed Concrete Require Less Maintenance than Polished Concrete?

As we went through the benefits of sealed concrete, sealed concrete is much easier to maintain. However, it’s doom to disappoint you.

Unfortunately, sealed concrete is much more challenging to maintain than polished surfaces. Sealed concrete is very much prone to scratches and wear-outs in a much quicker way than polished concrete.

Furthermore, the sealed concrete requires many resealing procedures as the sealing seems to wear off quicker with time and reduces the shine over time, leading up to a reseal within 2 or 3 months, depending on the usage of the floor as well.

How does the Cost of Sealing Concrete Compare to Polishing It?

It will be more than just acknowledging the benefits and durability of these options to your future floorings.

The purchase of an installation of one of these options will come with the requirement to be budget-friendly. Therefore we are going to talk about money here.

Usually, the sealed concrete falls will cost more than the polished floor at a 45% rate. Thus, the floor sealant will be costly, including labor tasks. Moreover, considering that the sealing must be resealed with time, it costs a lot, including the repairing processes.

Can you Change from Sealed to Polished Concrete or Vice Versa?

The risky part is the removal of the sealant that you have used on the floor previously. There are two main ways to remove the sealer.

1. Mechanical method
2. Chemical method

In terms of the chemical method, it could be as risky as we could not ever imagine the combination of different chemicals reacting to each other. Hence, this method should be the last option left as a survival technique.

Then the mechanical method becomes much safer, considering that the procedure is mechanical, not chemical messing with the interior components of the sealant. However, this method can cause damage. Though you can install polished concrete over sealed concrete, the installment of sealed concrete over polished one is not possible.

Does Sealed or Polished Concrete Offer Better Slip Resistance?

Security and protection is the first and foremost thing that you will be considering when you are building your new home. Therefore, you will be considerate and cautious about slip and trip resistance.

Therefore, it will be a fortune to know that polished concrete provides much more slip and trip resistance than sealed concrete, a literal sealer poured on.

Thus it will be safe to install polished concrete if you hold toddlers and elderly people in your home for extra safety. Thus, the concrete polishers and these concrete floors can be useful to reduce the number of domestic accidents that are being reported to the local hospital.

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Video Credits – Lakeside Painting, Inc.

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