Contractors have options when looking for a concrete polisher. Machine size, power, and features are important considerations in choosing a grinder. Polished floors have gained popularity in residential, commercial and industrial spaces over the last decades. Some of the benefits of a polished floor include; reduced maintenance, refinishes of an existing floor, and improved light reflectivity which lowers energy costs.
A compact, versatile option for a concrete polisher is National’s GP500 grinder. This modular machine is great for small to medium sized jobs, its budget friendly, and a high production machine. It also uses a full range of prep and polishing tooling to remove coatings, prep concrete, or polish to a 3000-grit shine.
Outside of great tooling options, durable features on this machine add value and increase ROI. The floating dust shroud helps with dust containment on uneven floors. Removable pocket weights give you increased or decreased head pressure with little effort. Tooling choice, concrete hardness, and the coating being removed all impact the amount of weight on the grinding head.
As you move into larger counter-rotational grinders, you get the same great features on a larger platform. The GP700 and GP3000 grinders will increase your production rate for polishing larger spaces. These grinders are heavier and require larger dust collectors to keep up.
Understanding the job specs and desired outcome for the polished floor will also help guide your machine search. Popular additives like color, hardener densifier and non-slip media will determine the best prep and polish steps, as well as the size and style of machine to use.