We are using your Polytop 5050 for our concrete countertops. We are having trouble with it pitting. We have put two coats and it still has pits. Causes? Fixes?

Thanks,

Patricia

No worries… the issue of pitting in the sealer for the tops is pinholes. If your diamond grinding the tops, be sure to do a “fill coat” or thin slurry paste. Allow to dry and polish off the tops again. Multiple coats of sealer won’t affect the small pinholes much. It seems like it would, but trust me, the holes must be filled prior to apply the 5050 sealer. The cheapest thing to fill voids up with is straight cement paste and use our Versacrete – Polymer liquid, thinned down @ 3 to 1 w/ water. Smear the paste on w/ a 4” to 5” knife, allow to dry a couple hours and then diamond polish off.

Thank You,

Matthew Newman
Director of Operations

He did slurry it. I may not be using the correct descriptive phrase for what is happening. These places appear to be dry spots that are sunk down to the surface of the countertop. Some of them are as large as 1/8 inch.

Patricia

Concrete countertops can be a challenge. Attention to details and workmanship is critical! There is a balance to find in when & how much to grind or polish the concrete surface. I used to be the National Advanced Counter top specialist and trainer for Buddy Rhodes Countertop products and Concrete Solutions. So I’ve been down this road many times. The learning curve is short, the rewards are great, so I’d encourage you to hang in there!

Generally when we are diamond polishing down the tops we do the following steps:
1. 1st wet grinding is a 50 or 100 grit pad, then paste / slurry – a heavy thick coat.( allow to dry a few hours) sunlight, heat or fans speed up dry times a lot…
2. 2nd wet grind w/ 200 grit pad, then paste / slurry again a heavy thick coat( allow to dry a few hours)
3. 3rd wet grind w/ 400 grit pad, then paste / slurry a nice thin tight coat ( allow to dry a few hours)
4. Final wet grind w/ a 400 grit pad.
5. Allow to dry 24 hrs
6. Apply 5050 Polytop thinned w/ Xylene @ 2 to 1 ( allow to dry 2-4 hrs)
7. Use 150 grit sand paper and a round palm sander, on the 1st sealer coat. Clean off and wipe down with a lint free rag & denatured alcohol. ( Note: It’s best to let the dust settle for a few hours, then wipe down again the countertop surfaces, this ensures that little dust particles are gone from the surface)
8. Apply 2nd 5050 Polytop thinned w/ Xylene @ 2 to 1 or apply 100%.

It can be very frustrating to get a pinhole free concrete countertop surface. Each time you wet grind or polish the tops, you’re opening up your surface for more pinholes, so don’t over polish the surface, just get the slurry coat removed quickly. Our Versacrete resin will help a lot to keep the paste / slurry in the pockets and pinholes.

Thank You,

Matthew Newman
Director of Operations

I have them same problem using a different sealer. The air bubbles developed in the sealer leaving some dimples. Did you ever resolve your issue?