Polished concrete and sealed concrete are often assumed to be the same thing — both end up as shiny concrete floors. They are two different treatments, and in most cases you need one or the other, not both.
Sealed vs polished concrete
Sealed concrete is a broad category covering any floor finished with a sealer applied over the surface. The simplest version is an acrylic sealant over bare concrete; grind and seal is a more refined version where the slab is ground back first.
Polished concrete is achieved mechanically, using progressively finer diamond abrasives. The easiest way to tell them apart: there is no film covering a mechanically polished floor.
How concrete floors are sealed
A sealer both protects and enhances — it brings out the colour of the slab, adds sheen, and protects against abrasion and staining. Film-forming sealers are the most common choice for decorative concrete work.
- The floor is prepared and cleaned, then left to dry fully
- The area is ventilated properly before coating
- A thin coat of sealer is applied and allowed to dry
- A second coat is applied in the opposite direction
- The system is finished according to the sealer specification
Which should you choose?
If budget is the deciding factor and you want the look, grind and seal delivers a very similar appearance for less. If you want the most durable, lowest-maintenance result and the finish to be part of the slab, mechanically polished concrete is worth the extra.
Both are easy to live with. Sealed floors will need the coating refreshed periodically as it wears; polished floors can be re-polished to restore the original sheen. How often depends on traffic and how well the floor is cleaned.
Thinking about a concrete floor?
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