Glossary for understanding terms used within this website:

 

- RFR / PT1 or Reflector Enhancer based interior flooring - Reflector Enhancer is a micro particle resin manufactured to exact angular precision to reflect and refract light to create a natural metallic or aged stone patina when used in high build clear resin epoxies.  Reflector Enhancer can be mixed with 100% solids epoxy to create a 85%-95% opaque natural patina.  5-15% of the previous coat will show through, so selection of color for primer coat is critical.   Reflector Enhancer will refract light differently on different colored surfaces. It doesn't change the color of the epoxy, it changes how light reflects colors off itself and the underlying primed surface. and will appear to slightly "phase" from shade to shade when view from different areas, or under varying light intensity, colors, or angles of view. Primer material may be Elite Crete Thin Finish colored with Elite Crete's Portion Control or Synthetic Primary Pigment, or it may Elite Crete PT-4 colored 100% solids epoxy. Typical contractor decision of epoxy based primer vs. Thin Finish primer usually depends on whether existing substrate has to be mechanically profiled or shot blasted to remove previous coating, glue, thin set, etc. If this is the case, the PT-4 epoxy is usually used to prime the floor at 14-18 mils. If the existing substrate has no existing sealer or glue that needs mechanical profiling - then it can be cleaned with a swing machine (floor machine or buffer) with a light detergent (Simple Green with 12-20 parts water is the preferred solution), followed by an muriatic acid bath, neutralized completely with ammonia solution before rinsing. Elite Crete Thin Finish, which is less than half the cost of 16 mils of 100% solids epoxy, can be colored and a skim coat of Thin Finish can be applied as the primer coat over the re-dampened surface (spray surface with water with pump sprayers to ensure a wet surface, with no standing water before Thin Finish application) and provide a bond equally permanent to properly applied epoxy over mechanically profiled concrete. The Thin Finish skim coat primer – at approx 1/32”-1/16” thickness yields a more fine grain stone pattern to the final finish than color epoxy primer does.  Thin Finish primed RFR (Reflector Enhancer) systems look more like marble or rare precious metal containing stone, where as colored epoxy primed RFR systems look more like the most beautiful and consistent acid stained floor you've ever seen...but better.   Thin Finish costs about half the price of PT4 at 14 mils, and requires less surface prep to use.   But it also requires 50% again more labor, and may require a two day dry time vs. one day for epoxy.  After either colored Thin Finish or colored epoxy primer is installed (48 hours after Thin Finish, and 18-30 hours after epoxy) a coat of clear PT1 100% solids epoxy - with .75 containers of Reflector Enhancer per gallon of epoxy mixed in with activation, is applied and steel troweled once.  (colors per sample provided and agreed on prior to project start - multiple colors can be mixed - the micro particle doesn't dissolve or mix with other particles...mixed color effects are among the most dynamic ever seen in the synthetic site mixed flooring industry)  This 16 mil coat is applied like any other 100% solids, but with one extra step at the end.  As with any 100% solids epoxy, you’ll mix activator and resin for specified interval, immediately pour entire mix out within predetermined area, squeegee epoxy everywhere, edge with cut brushes or mini rollers, and back roll multiple times to ensure even deposition. The only additional step is steel troweling the entire surface once and lightly - a short pool trowel works best - just enough to put a random troweled patina on the floor with no straight line trowel marks or misses, or small areas of high volume as to not flow out evenly. The visible trowel pattern will flow out as the micro particle settles out; you will not be able to tell it was troweled at all when the coat cures. It will appear to be the most consistently random metallic stone looking surface you've ever seen. Floor can be scored and regrouted into custom stone shapes or design elements. Hydra Stone Dye can be used to tint the epoxy to shift colors easily. Floor can be lightly sanded and top coated with premium topcoat or high end water based floor finish.  Recommended floor finish maintenance products based on high volumes of successful interior projects finished with 100% solids epoxy or high solids urethane:  Spartan iShine or On'N'On, Johnson Diversy Carefree, NCL One, Affiliated Labs Iron Clad, Ecolab Monostar

 

- Troweled Overlay - A polymer cement, Elite Crete Thin Finish, applied in one coat under interior epoxy sealer, or in multiple coats for decorative effects over fiber tape or custom stencils.  Multiple finish types available - texture is varied by on installation technique.  Can be stained, dyed, or sealed with Reflector Enhancer laced 100% solids epoxy for stunning interior flooring - more elegant than natural stone that would be available for less than $20 per sqft, and the client has more control of color than with marble or granite, which would be the only surfaces that could match the richness of color and "Wow" factor of these custom floors.   Or can be sealed with CSS for exterior overlays over concrete surfaces.

 

- Thin stamped overlay - Same process at Troweled Overlays with the addition of about 1/4" thick Elite Crete Texture Pave polymer cement stamped to provide a real stone impression.  These systems typically cost twice the price of a Troweled Overlay, but the realistic stone texture base of a stamped overlay, when stained, then then sealed with Reflector Enhancer laced 100% solids epoxy for stunning interior flooring, or sealed with Elite Crete CSS for exterior decorative overlays, is worth the additional cost when an authentic stone replacement is the requirement.  Stamped overlays in the 12-16 / sqft price range represent a 30-60% savings over the cost of installed stone, and stamped overlays, with the right installation contractor, can be custom colored for more beauty, elegance, and with less ongoing maintenance costs than any natural stone alternative.

- Splatter texture overlay - A polymer modified concrete based coating that is sprayed on with a drywall type hopper gun to provide a decorative and skid resistant decorative concrete coating.

- Knockdown overlay - Like the splatter texture overlay, this is a polymer modified concrete based coating that is sprayed on with a drywall type hopper gun and flattened with a trowel to provide a decorative and skid resistant decorative concrete coating.

- MICRO-FINISH - An extremely smooth polymer modified concrete coating product used for decorative concrete applications on interior concrete surfaces where a custom and seamless but decorative concrete floor is desired. MICRO-FINISH can be colored with an acid stain product to give it the look of aged colored concrete.

- Acid stain - Also known as chemical stain is a solution of chemical metallic salts in diluted hydrochloric acid and water used to create a stain solution that when comes in contact with concrete, creates a color effect. acid stain is typically available in colors ranging from red to tan to black to gold to brown to blue and even green. Perhaps the only disadvantages of acid stain is that the color cannot always be predicted because of variations in concrete substrates and that the acid stain needs to be neutralized the same as concrete must be neutralized before a decorative concrete coating is applied.

- chemical stain - Also known as acid stain, is a solution of chemical metallic salts in diluted hydrochloric acid and water used to create a stain solution that when comes in contact with concrete, creates a color effect. acid stain is typically available in colors ranging from red to tan to black to gold to brown to blue and even green. Perhaps the only disadvantages of acid stain is that the color cannot always be predicted because of variations in concrete substrates and that the acid stain needs to be neutralized the same as concrete must be neutralized before a decorative concrete coating is applied.

- ULTRA-STONE stain: A non-hazardous stain that is used in place of acid stain based products where good color variation is needed on concrete, decorative concrete, stamped concrete or other concrete coatings.

- Decorative concrete - Concrete surfaces that have been colored or coated with acid stain, chemical stain, concrete coatings or thin concrete overlays to improve the look of plain gray concrete.