Have you ever watched a professional sports game and thought about how talented the players are? To get to the realm of professional sports, players have to be doing something right; something the rest of us don’t understand. There’s no denying the innate ability to outperform a casual player, and in many instances, go far beyond what seems possible (kind of like a super power). While it’s true that some players seem like modern day Michael Jordans, there’s something to say about practical experience and understanding your craft.

Polishing concrete can be the same way sometimes. It’s easy to feel like someone else could polish a floor better than you and that you’ll never make it to the “big leagues”. But is this true? Not necessarily.

See, there’s one common thing that all masters of polishing have that amateurs don’t.

Can you guess what it is? Do you know the secret to perfectly polished concrete?

It’s the operator, and his knowledge of the equipment, tools, and fundamentals.

Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Not quite.

They say a poor workman blames his tools, but the truth in the polishing industry (as in many others) is that you really can’t make a beautiful end product without the right tools and experience.

So, how do you go pro in polishing?

“Experience” is the one word answer, but a better explanation is “familiarity with consistent equipment and tooling.”

It takes a talented individual to look at a floor and know what’s going to be best to polish it. And it’s going to take the right experience to know how the skills (and tooling) he brings to the “game” are going to affect the outcome.

This is where a floor system comes in handy.

Repeated experience with the same brand of tooling across a variety of floors is going to teach you about how to play to that tooling’s strengths; when to grind a little longer, when to change grits, and when to call it a day.

The one thing that can’t be bought in this industry is experience. Because concrete is a natural product, each floor is different. It’s up to each person to know what the best decisions for the floor are going to be and advise his customer as such.

Stepping into the ring was nothing new for Muhammad Ali the farther he got into his career. This is because of the countless times he’d done so in his life.

The same principle applies to polishing. You bring your previous jobs with you everywhere you go. Building that experience is what is going to help you give your customer perfectly polished concrete.

In search of a good floor system? We’ve got just the thing. But regardless of whose tools you use, it’s important to find a brand that works for you, and stick it out.

Invest the time in learning your sport and you’ll soon find yourself climbing the ranks. Polished concrete or professional sports, it makes no difference: build that experience and the rest will follow.