Mechanical finishing

of hardened concrete
Mechanical finishing can reveal color, develop a texture or eliminate surface
variations, but if used to remove or hide unexpected defects it more often
accentuates than corrects them

n most cases mechanical fin-

I ishing is employed (1) to re ve a l

the color of the mix ingre d i-
ents, (2) to develop a texture or
physical character for the finished
s u rf a c e, and (3) to eliminate sur-
face variations.
In some instances a builder will
decide after construction is com-
pleted to use abrasive blasting or Figure 7. Conventional nozzle has high impact at center but blast diminishes
similar techniques in an effort to re- toward edge of pattern and gives uneven blasted surface.
move or hide unanticipated surface
defects. With few exceptions this
approach accentuates the defects
instead of curing them.

Abrasive blasting
The most commonly used tech-
nique for surface removal is abra-
sive blasting. Abrasive blasting must
be thought of as a total system in-
cluding air source, sand pot, hose,
n oz z l e, abrasive, operator, and op-
erator protection.
The matter of operator protection
needs only a few though important
words. An improperly protected op-
erator will breathe dust and may
pay a price out of all proportion to
his wages. He will sweat profusely
and not be able to see his work. He
will be uncomfortable, and an un-
comfortable workman seldom pro-
duces the best results. Even at best,
this man’s job is not an easy one and
the final care of all construction ef-
forts rests in his hands.
The compressor chara c t e ri s t i c s
will influence both the speed and
quality of the work. Rotary or screw
type units deliver constant pressure
but piston units cause air flow to
fluctuate and make it difficult for
the nozzleman to produce a uni-
Figure 8. Venturi nozzle delivers hard hitting uniform impact over entire pattern.
form surface. The longer the hose,
the higher the pressure needed at
the pot to overcome pressure losses
in the line. In light blast finishes 70
to 80 psi pressure at the nozzle is
usually sufficient. Heavy blast tex-
tures require up to 120 psi. The
compressor should have a capacity
of at least 200 cubic feet per minute
and best efficiency is with units pro-
ducing 300 to 500 cubic feet per
minute.
The sand pot should be of 300- to
500-pound capacity with a func-
tioning moisture separator. Abra-
sive flow controls must be function-
ing properly. The hoses and pot
internal tubing must be properly
sized and balanced. The 3⁄4- to 1-inch
internal diameter hoses normally
used in the blasting industry are not
entirely satisfactory for architectur-
al concrete; 11⁄4- to 2-inch internal
diameter hoses are superior. From
compressor to whip, the diameters
should be constant.
The nozzle at the end of the sys-
tem is the most important element.
Smooth-bore nozzles develop a
high energy abrasive pattern at the
center of the impact area and a less-
er energy pattern around the pe-
riphery. Such a nozzle blasts a high-
ly variable pattern on the concrete.
A more uniform impact pattern can
be obtained with a Venturi nozzle.
Carbide or norbide nozzles should
be selected for durability. Small and
lightly blasted jobs require a mini-
mum 3⁄8-inch orifice while a 3⁄4-inch
orifice can give considerably more
production on a larger project.
The operator must be able to see
the finish at the moment that it is
exposed. If he wears a canvas hood
the lens will tend to fog, dust con-
tacting the moisture will become
mud, the operator can’t see his
work, and the concrete finish will
suffer. An air-fed metal hood pro-
vides a clear view, pure air and a
comfortable workman.
Flint and hydrocarbon type abra-
Various effects can be produced mechanically from identical panels. Top panel
sives usually cost more than silica was blasted with coarse abrasive and the bottom panel with light abrasive. The
sand, but in many instances their left hand section of each was blasted at 24 hours and the right hand section at
sharpness allows faster cutting and 14 days.
thus increases production. A good Center sections were lightly blasted at 14 days.
general rule in selecting an abrasive
is that the particle size of the abra-
sive will attack a similar size parti-
cle in the concrete surface. Because
of this, when the goal is a lightly
blasted or flat surface a medium or
coarse gradation in the abrasive
should be selected. This size abra-
sive has a tendency to pound the
concrete surface and remove the
surface skin without digging into
the finer mortar. For a deep expo-
sure of the coarse aggregate a finer
abrasive should be used because the
finer abrasive attacks the smaller
particles in the mortar fraction of
the concrete without affecting the more forgiving in that it has a better Jackhammering
coarse aggregate as much. ability to cover up surface defects Jackhammering is usually accom-
than does blasting. The operation plished with one of two different
Mechanical fracturing also is considerably cleaner than types of tools: a chiselled or a point-
Another basic approach to pro- abrasive blasting. ed tool. In order to produce a good
ducing texture is by mechanical f ra c t u re d - p a rticle surface, the tool
fracturing. For this purpose a tool is Bushhammering must fracture the mortar and the
used to impact the concrete, there- Another commonly used method coarse aggregate alike. Jackham-
by mechanically removing part of of mechanically fracturing the sur- mering should be done when the
the concrete surface. Scaling, bush- face is by bushhammering. Usually matrix has reached a strength ap-
hammering, jackhammering and these hammers are pneumatic, al- proximating that of the coarse ag-
tooling fall under this category. though electric or hand hammers gregate. If hammering is started too
can be used. The face of a bushham- soon the tool merely removes the
Scaling mer resembles a meat tenderi ze r matrix and the coarse aggregate
The scaler is a pneumatic device and the tool can be obtained in var- does not fracture. Sometimes the
with three piston-headed chisels ious sizes. This texture is also forgiv- coarse particles are knocked out,
that rotate and fracture the concrete ing in that it has a tendency to cover leaving blank eyes. Generally, most
surface on impact. This impact is up surface defects. Like scaling, it is architectural concrete mixes can be
not great and does not produce a a considerably cleaner operation jackhammered between seven and
deeply etched surface; rather, it has than abrasive blasting. Scaling and fourteen days after casting.
a fine nibbling effect. While this bushhammering produce effective If jackhammering is to be per-
method is usually more expensive finishes with conventional concrete formed at a time when the matrix is
than most abrasive blasting it is mixes. softer than the coarse aggregate, a
COMBINATION FINISHES
First row, left to right: Corrugated and brush blast; striated and light blast; reeded and light blast.
Second row: Reeded and chiseled wide spacing; reeded and chiseled notched spacing; reeded and chiseled wide spacing
with large ribs.
Third row: 34⁄ -inch reeded and bushhammered; 34⁄ -inch reeded and hammered; 112⁄ -inch reeded and hammered.

chisel-type tool must be used. This This combination reeded and chiseled finish was used on the
tool has a tendency to fracture Wright State University Library Building in Dayton.
across the aggregate, while the
pointed tool has a tendency to dig
into the matrix and not fracture the
coarse aggregate. On the other hand
when a concrete becomes very hard
the pointed tool does a superior job.
Since jackhammering accentuates
the presence of coarse aggregate, a
higher than normal coarse aggre-
gate content may be desirable.

Tooling
Tooling refers to the use of any
sort of mechanical fracturing tool
moved across a concrete surface in a
p re s c ribed pattern. Jigs can be set
where as many as four or five pneu-
matic powered hammers are drawn
together to produce a directional
tooled-type surface. Another ap-
proach has a single tool following
along a straightedge to give it the
proper direction. Considerable vari-
ations and textures can be produced
with tooled finishes.
Combination finishes
Combination finishes involve the
use of more than one basic finishing
method. One common example is
the reeded and hammered finish.
The reed is first cast into the con-
crete surface by the forming system
and, after the cast surface has
reached sufficient hardness, a ham-
mer is used to knock off the leading
edges of the reed thus fracturing the
matrix and coarse aggregate. Con-
crete strength requirements are
similar to those previously dis-
cussed for jackhammered surfaces.
While hammering does not take a
high degree of skill to achieve a good
s u rf a c e, care must be taken not to
create a one-way pattern direction.
To avoid this each individual reed
should be struck by the hammer
from different angles.
Other combination-type finishes
can be achieved by striating and
a b ra s i ve blasting, reeding and
bushhammering the leading edge,
or reeding and then raking the sur-
face with a hand- or air- d ri ven bull
chisel.
PUBLICATION #C720549
Copyright © 1972, The Aberdeen Group
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