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Stamped overlay questions

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committedconstruction	Stamped overlay questions		Lead	[-]
Posts: 4 03/30/09 10:15 PM	Tags : None I have poured hundreds of yards of concrete with all different stamp finishes. I am new in the overlay industry and just went to a training and had a few questions. The mix seemed a little sticky and i wanted to know if you can lightly fog with water and maybe run a fresno or light walking/funny trowel over the surface to smoothen out your lines from the rakes? Also wanted to know from some experianced people on these stamped overlays, the samples we did seemed like the overlay stuck to the stamps often. Im not sure if the intstructor needed more liquid release sprayed or what the deal was. And lastly is it better to stamp the overlays when its a little wetter so you dont have to really tamp the stamp inpression in or wait so you can tamp the impressions in. And does that maybe play into affect with the stickyness to the stamps. Thanks alot hope to hear some help.
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DCPlus	In a nutshell...	#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 452 03/31/09 07:56 AM	After you rake the TP, use your magic trowel to smooth the surface. Don't use pressure, just let the weight of the magic trowel to fill the rake lines. If the TP is sticking to the stamps, it could be either not enough "Bubble Gum" on the surface as well as the stamps (make sure you spray both) or it could be old stamps that have a layer of polymer on them from previous stamp jobs. I'm guilty of that one. I've got 4 Old Granite stamps that will stick and pull no matter how much release I use. They're dead. And finally...You should not ever tamp an overlay. I had this conversation with Brad about a year ago. If it's hard enough you have to tamp it, you've waited too long. Tamping will almost always cause delamination. As a matter of fact, you may be delaminating when you tamp it. The shock of a tamper can break the bond. The trick to stamping is to have enough people. I recommend a minimum of 4: One guy mixing and running buckets One guy spreading Thin-Finish One guy raking Texture-Pave One guy detailing edges The mixer and the detailer are the ones you want checking the Texture Pave periodically to see if it's ready to stamp Once it's ready, get one of them out on it and the other can do double duty until all the TP in on the ground. Then have 3 stamping, 1 cleaning tools and making sure you've got plenty of release. That's my system. Other's may have different ideas. High school kids make great gophers! Billy deco-con_plus@att.net www.deco-concreteplus.com Facebook: Decorative Concrete Plus Twitter: @DCPlus
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Cement Shoes	Don't fog with water	#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 18 03/31/09 09:17 AM	That was always a big no no! I think it can leave a weak surface, cant remember all the details about it.
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DCS Inc		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2074 03/31/09 04:26 PM	I've done everything wrong...... at least once! A Fresno will close the surface and you will have a million little air bubbles come to the surface. As stated, spritzing water will cause a weak surface just like concrete. As far as sticky stamps. When applying the bond coat, the surface MUST be completely saturated. Overlays are meant to dry from the top down, not the other way like regular concrete. With a completely saturated surface and a wet bond coat to "hold" that moisture in, the Texture Pave will skim and start drying from the top down. Timing is crucial as you well know being in the concrete trade. Patty cake the edges by hand and work your lightest guy on the stamps early. Do not use a tamper as this breaks the bond on the bottom side of the Texture Pave. Clean stamps: Sleep with them, treat them with love! The polymers in the bag mixes dry clear and you can't see them when they dry on the stamps. Once dry.... you're screwed. The stamp conditioner seems to work pretty good. A good cleaning ( Dawn dish soap) and conditioning spray ( wd40) and put away with surface sides facing each other will prolong the stamps. Concrete guys have a hard time at this. They are used to just leaving a little powdered release on the stamps and throwing them in the back of their pick up. Oh, something else I have found, If you screw up and use your thin stamps on concrete..... they really suck after that for overlays. Trust me. I pull out my sticky stamps in class to show just what a PIA it is when they start sticking. I also show how to fix that headache in the middle of a project. Your distributor should be able to let you know all about that. gene ec-Indy
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