Burnished
No grinding. A hard, steel-trowelled slab is cleaned, hardened with a lithium densifier, sealed thin and burnished with high-speed pads until it shines.
What you see. The slab as it was poured, with a sheen. No stone shows. Trowel marks, colour variation and the concreter's finish all stay, and the sheen makes them easier to see.
Where it suits. Sheds, garages and workshops, rural and commercial slabs, and interiors on a budget where the slab was power-trowelled well.
What to know. It is only as good as the pour. Nothing is ground off, so the slab has to be hard, flat and evenly trowelled. The sheen sits in the sealer, so it wears in traffic lanes and is brought back by re-burnishing. Not for outdoors, or for soft, dusty or patched slabs.
The numbers
- Gloss (DOI)
- Typically 40-70, varies with the slab
- Grit sequence
- No grinding: clean, densify, seal, burnish
- Removal depth
- Nil
- Slab flatness
- As poured
Removal depth depends on the aggregate exposure you choose as much as the finish. Full stone exposure takes 5-6 mm.
Who it is for
- Sheds and workshops
- Garages
- Rural and commercial slabs
- Well-trowelled interiors on a budget
Included
- Cleaning to remove laitance and site dirt
- Lithium densifier
- Sealer, applied thin
- Burnishing with high-speed pads
Not included
- Removing tiles, carpet, glue or old coatings - quoted separately after we see them
- Structural crack repair or slab levelling
- Moving furniture and appliances
How it runs
- 1
Inspect
We check the slab is hard and evenly trowelled. If it is not, grind and seal is the better option and we will say so.
- 2
Clean
Laitance, salts and site dirt come off so the densifier can get in.
- 3
Densify
A lithium densifier hardens the surface and stops it dusting.
- 4
Seal and burnish
Thin coats of sealer, burnished with high-speed pads to a soft sheen.
Time on site. Usually one to two days on site for a shed or garage, plus cure time before vehicles go back on.
Price. Quoted per job, from photos or a site visit. Area is one factor; slab condition and access matter as much. Usually the lowest-cost finish we do.
Questions
Is burnished the same as polished?
No. Polished concrete is ground and refined through diamond grits until the concrete itself shines. Burnished is not ground at all: the sheen comes from densifier and sealer burnished on the surface. It costs less and shows the slab as it was poured.
Can you burnish an existing slab?
If it is hard, flat and was steel-trowelled well, yes. A soft, dusty, patched or uneven slab will not burnish well. Grind and seal or honed is the better option there.
My concreter says they burnish at the pour. Is that the same?
Some concreters burnish with the power trowel while the slab is going off. That is part of their finish. Ours is done after the slab has cured: densifier, sealer and a burnish on top.
Other finishes
Tell us about the slab.
Still at plans stage, slab poured, or a floor that is already down - send what you have. Plans, photos or a rough area. We come back with what the slab can do and a day count.