She's been in over 100 of those commercials" and my mom still thinks Flo clocks in at an office somewhere. Same thing with the Mayhem guy, she swears he works for Allstate. Ad actors really got people fooled.

Learned the same thing from a finisher in Bakersfield years back. He said people always forget the water you spray on top for the cure, that's where the real gallons go. A 10 yard slab soaking for a week adds up fast, way more than what goes in the drum. He told me he'd seen guys lose a pour because they cut the cure water short trying to save a buck. That number stuck with me every since.

Did you ever read that ACI report on hot weather and rain effects on fresh concrete? I remember reading somewhere that light rain during bleeding can actually help because it keeps the surface from drying out too fast, which is kinda the opposite of what most guys assume. The real problem is the timing, like you said, if you get after it with a trowel while that water is still sitting there you're just pushing a weak paste around on top. Sounds like that old timer knew exactly when to let it sit and when to work it. Most of the scaling and dusting jobs I've seen were guys fighting the weather instead of reading the slab.