Outdoor concrete treatment that keeps the surface texture

Water sits in the texture, wheels attack the edge

The broom finish on yards and ramps is intentional: it gives the surface its profile. But after rain, water and dirt stay in its grooves and penetrate the open concrete. Forklifts and pallet trucks run along the edge of the loading dock every day, so that is where the concrete starts to crumble first.

• Wear on edges and drive lanes

  Where wheels run onto the ramp and along the edge, the top layer crumbles and the aggregate shows.

• Water and dirt in the texture

  After rain, water sits in the grooves and soaks into the concrete. The surface stays dark for longer and dirt builds up in the texture.

Illustration: An outdoor loading yard next to a building, with a broom finish and an access ramp. After rain, water stands in the grooves, there is dirt in the texture and the yard edge behind the forklift is chipped. A circle marks a detail at the transition to the ramp.

First application of HARD

We apply HARD to a clean, dry surface. The impregnating agent penetrates the surface layer through the capillaries and reacts there with the free lime in the concrete. This forms calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), which fills the micropores and makes the layer harder. On outdoor surfaces, we apply HARD twice.

Illustration: An enlarged block of broom-finished concrete, with finer grooves on the left and coarser ones on the right. After the first application of HARD, a thin surface layer is marked in violet and the capillaries are partly filled.

Second application of HARD, texture intact

The second application further hardens the surface layer and makes it more uniform. HARD reacts in the concrete and does not form a film on top, so the grooves stay as they were. The surface profile is kept, and slip resistance still depends on the profile, dirt and maintenance.

Illustration: After the second application of HARD, the surface layer is marked in a stronger violet, with an unnumbered dimension line. The grooves of the texture are unchanged, and there is no film on top.

Coarser texture: add SEAL 3.0 and PROTEC

With a coarser texture or heavier exposure, for example on loading docks, we add SEAL 3.0 after hardening to seal the surface. Where stains are frequent, PROTEC follows: drops stay on the surface and are easier to clean up.

SEAL is not intended for outdoor surfaces, so outdoors we use SEAL 3.0. Over the years, weather, pollution and maintenance also affect how the surface looks.

Illustration: On the left, a finer texture treated with two applications of HARD. On the coarser right half, the pores are closed after SEAL 3.0 is applied, and after PROTEC is applied a drop of water stays on the surface as a bead.