Magnesium vs. traditional hardener: did I read that stat right?
I was reading through some mix design specs last Tuesday and saw that magnesium floor hardeners can cut dusting by up to 60% compared to the standard stuff we use on warehouse slabs. That number seems almost too good to be true, especially since the cost per square foot is only about 15 cents more. I've got a 20,000 sq ft job coming up in Tulsa and I'm trying to decide if that extra $3,000 is worth the claim or if it's just marketing fluff. Has anyone actually done side-by-side tests on the same pour, or are we all just trusting the data sheets?
Sounds like the kind of number that gets thrown around after a sales guy buys lunch for the whole office. Cutting dusting by 60% on paper is easy when the test slab is brand new and nobody's dragged a forklift across it for three years. Real warehouses beat the heck out of a floor, and a lot of that dust comes from the mix itself, not just the surface. Your mileage may vary, but I'd want to see it hold up on an actual pour before dropping an extra 3 grand. Take those data sheets with a grain of salt, they're written by the folks selling the stuff.