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Matte or High Gloss? Choosing the
Right Finish for Your Concrete Floors
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Greetings!
When planning the look of a concrete floor, you have a lot of important decisions to make. What color scheme will work best with your client's d�cor? Do you want to graphically enhance the floor with a stencil or pattern? Do you want to give the floor a decorative border? Your final decision, and one of the most important, is the gloss level of the sealer you apply to the finished floor. As when choosing between flat, semi-gloss, or high-gloss paint for a wall, you'll need to think about the degree of shine that's right for the room and the look you're trying to achieve. Some products, like penetrating sealers, leave little or no shine. Others, such as high-gloss acrylics and epoxies, will make floors as shiny as polished marble or granite. Even with polished concrete floors, which generally don't need a sealer, the gloss level can vary from moderate to high. To help you visualize your options, here are some examples of what the various finish levels look like in a variety of settings.
Jim Peterson,
The Concrete Network
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Glossy Floor Finishes
If you're after a wet look to enhance the appearance of colored finishes or to create greater light reflectivity, choose a sealer or a polished floor finish with a medium to high-gloss sheen. See these examples.
Salon Floor Glistens Like Copper  Products used: High-solids clear urethane followed by three coats of a super-high-gloss finish wax 
Microtopping Looks like Polished Concrete Product used: High-gloss urethane sealer Product used: Wet-look acrylic sealer |
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