CASH Pads Polish Busy Bus Station – Columbia

In March of 2011, Josh Jones of STI had the opportunity of visiting our dealer Cl Marwind in Bogota, Colombia. While there, Josh was invited to visit one of the busiest bus stations in the country for the purpose of a restoration workshop/training of CI Marwind’s technicians and sales people. The objective of the training was to educate the technicians about the proper use of the Prep/Master machines, STI Burnishers, and the CASH Maintenance pads (PM2 System) to restore and maintain an exposed aggregate concrete floor.

The floor was at least 20 years old and had been treated in various ways using sealers, waxes, and other topical chemicals. Due to the high volume of traffic, on a 24/7 basis, most chemical treatments failed after only a short time of use.

Given the durability of polished concrete combined with consistent and proper maintenance practices, this was the perfect venue to give densified and polished concrete an opportunity to prove its strength.

Beginning the Polishing Process

The process started with a grind using a P/M 2420 and 80 grit Turbo Cups to remove old sealers and laitance from the surface. The next step was to wet polish using the STI 100 grit Terrazzo pads to remove the scratches from the previous step.

After the floor had been cleaned and allowed to dry, CI Marwind’s technicians applied a coat of EZ Shine denisifer to the surface and allowed it to react and dry. The final steps were to finish polishing using the FL-07 #5, #6, #7 & #LUX pads.

Also demonstrated was the proper maintenance of the polished surface using the PM2 System from STI. The claim can be made that polished concrete will last 20 years but this will only be true with proper daily maintenance and regular chemical hardening and polishing – on a quarterly or semi-annual basis.

While daily cleaning goes a long way to ensuring long term beauty, quarterly or semi-annual treatment with the PM2 System gives the concrete, marble, or terrazzo the chemicals and mechanical treatment it needs to keep a high shine, slip-resistant surface, and strong durable wear surface.

If you have a similar story to share or questions about this high traffic venue that found a permanent solution with STI products and polished concrete, please do not hesitate to contact us.