Polished concrete is not a coating
This is the part most people get wrong when they compare quotes. An epoxy or flake floor puts a new surface on top of your slab. Polished concrete is your slab — ground progressively finer with diamond tooling, hardened right through with a chemical densifier, and then polished until it shines. There is no film on top, so there is nothing that can peel, chip, or hot-tire lift.
That makes it a genuinely different product with different strengths, and it is not automatically the right answer. We will tell you honestly which one suits your slab and how you use the space.
Polished concrete or a coating?
Choose polished concrete when
You have a sound slab, you want very low maintenance, you like the natural look of concrete, and you want a surface with no film that can ever delaminate. It suits warehouses, shops, retail, and modern interiors.
Choose a coating when
You want colour and pattern, you need to hide a slab that is stained or patched, you need chemical resistance, or you want the job finished in a single day. Flake and metallic both do things polishing cannot.
Sometimes neither
If the slab is badly spalled, heavily patched, or has a serious moisture problem, polishing will expose all of it. We will say so at the measure rather than take the job and hope.
How we polish a floor
Assess the slab
We look at hardness, aggregate depth, patching, and moisture. That determines the sheen and aggregate exposure that is realistically achievable.Grind and refine
Multiple passes with progressively finer diamond tooling, from coarse metal-bond through to fine resin. This is where the flatness comes from.Densify
A chemical hardener is applied that reacts inside the concrete, hardening the surface right through rather than sitting on it.Polish and guard
Final polishing passes to your chosen sheen, then a penetrating guard for stain resistance. A slip-resistant treatment is available where the floor gets wet.
What to expect
- This is a multi-day job — several grinding passes and a densifier cure. It is not a one-day install and we will not tell you otherwise
- Your slab will show its history — old patches, saw cuts, and colour variation become part of the finished look
- Low maintenance afterwards — dust mop and the occasional damp clean, no waxing or re-coating cycle
- Slip resistance available where the floor gets wet
- One fixed lump-sum price quoted after we see the slab
- Financing available with nothing down
Polished and high-gloss floors we have finished
Financing
Approved today. Installed this month. $0 down.
We offer customer financing through Enhancify, so a new floor does not have to wait for the money to be sitting there. There is no money down, and checking your options does not affect your credit score.
See financing options or ask about it when we come out to measure.
Financing is provided by third-party lenders through Enhancify. Approval, rates, and terms are set by the lender. Infinity Paint & Epoxy does not make lending decisions.
Concrete polishing — FAQ
Is polished concrete better than epoxy?
Neither is better in the abstract, they are different products. Polished concrete has no coating on top, so nothing can peel, and it is very low maintenance. A coating gives you colour, pattern, chemical resistance, and the ability to hide a slab that has seen better days. We will tell you which one actually suits your floor when we come and look at it.
How long does concrete polishing take?
It is a multi-day job. There are several grinding passes with progressively finer tooling, plus a densifier that has to react and cure. We give you the real schedule in writing at the quote. Anyone promising a polished floor in a day is describing a different process.
Will my old slab look good polished?
It depends entirely on the slab, and this is the honest answer rather than the easy one. Polishing exposes what is already there, including patches, saw cuts, and colour variation. Some floors look superb. A badly spalled or heavily patched slab is usually better coated than polished, and we will say so.
Is it slippery?
Polished concrete is no more slippery than most hard flooring when it is dry, but any hard smooth floor is slick when wet. Where a floor gets wet, we apply a slip-resistant treatment. Tell us how the space is used and we will spec it accordingly.
Does it need sealing or waxing?
It does not need waxing or a re-coating cycle, which is one of its main advantages. We apply a penetrating guard for stain resistance as part of the job, and that is topped up occasionally rather than stripped and replaced.
How do you price it?
A fixed lump-sum price for the whole job, quoted after we have seen and tested the slab. Sheen level, aggregate exposure, and slab condition all change the work involved, so this is not a job we price over the phone.
Get a Free Polished Concrete Quote
Tell us about the space and we will come and look at the slab before quoting.
Where we work
Infinity Paint & Epoxy installs floor coatings across Slidell, the Northshore, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Prefer to talk now? Call (985) 545-5898 or request a free quote.