Hit 500 square feet of stamped concrete in one pour yesterday

I've been finishing for 12 years and never managed that much in a single day without a crew. We used a new release agent from a supplier in Chattanooga and it made the pattern pop like crazy. Anyone else ever smash a personal record like that by accident?

3 comments

3 Comments

jones.anna2mo ago

Gotta ask what release agent y'all ran with? I've tried a few different ones over the years and some of em just leave a chalky mess. Curious if it's something I can get locally or if I'd have to order it special.

sarah5312mo ago

Honestly, I swear by the old-school PVA method. Not the fancy spray stuff, I mean the literal polyvinyl alcohol you can get from art supply stores. Mix it with water at about a 4:1 ratio and brush it on, let it dry to that clear film. I've been using that for years on my concrete molds and it never leaves that gross chalky residue you're talking about. You might have to order it online though, I've never seen it at a big box hardware store anywhere.

abby_wilson511mo ago

Ugh yes the chalky mess drives me crazy, I feel like it's the same as how some dish soaps leave that weird film on glasses no matter how much you rinse them. It's like there's a whole category of products out there that just don't play nice with the surface they're supposed to help, whether it's molds or mugs. I ended up switching to a paste wax from the hardware store, the kind people use for woodworking, and it works way better than the sprays I tried before.