Cream polish vs salt and pepper vs full aggregate: cut depth
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Cream polish vs salt and pepper vs full aggregate is a question of how deep the cut goes. A slab has a thin layer of cement paste on top, called the cream. Under it sits fine sand and small rock, and under that sits the big rock. The deeper we cut, the bigger the rock that shows, and the cut depth sets the look more than any later step.
The 3 cut depths and their grits
The grit number tells you how coarse the tool is. A lower number means a coarser tool that cuts deeper and faster.
| Look | Tools | What shows |
|---|---|---|
| Cream polish | 200 to 400 grit | Only the cement paste, no rock |
| Salt and pepper | 30 grit primary cut | Fine sand and small rock |
| Full aggregate | 16 or 10 grit | Big rock across the floor |
After the cut, every floor gets the same steps. We densify it, which hardens the concrete from the inside, then polish it up through finer and finer grits to the shine you picked. Those later steps change the shine, not how much rock shows.
Why cream polish is rare on a slab we did not pour
A cream polish never cuts through the top layer. It starts at 200 to 400 grit and only smooths the paste. The cream is thin. So it works only on a slab that is very flat.
On a slab another crew poured, the floor is almost never that flat. Our tools ride on the high spots first, and the high spots cut through the cream long before the low spots are touched. You end up with patches of salt and pepper in a cream floor. So we rarely offer cream polish on a slab we did not pour, and we will tell you if your slab is the exception.
Why the same cut looks different on two slabs
A slab has a thin layer of cement paste on top, called the cream. Under it sits sand and small rock, then big rock. Nobody can see how deep the rock sits until the cut gets there.
Standard primary cut
Two passes with a 30 grit tool. Most floors show a salt and pepper look.
Pro: It is already in your price.
Con: How much rock shows depends on your slab.
Keep cutting toward full aggregate
We keep cutting with coarser tools until you say stop or the rock shows.
Pro: You pick the look as you watch it, and full aggregate is often very pretty.
Con: Nobody can say how deep the rock is, so it is billed by the hour. It can reach rebar or a stake left in the slab.
What our standard cut gives you
Every Slab Boss Polish includes our standard primary cut: 2 passes with a 30 grit tool. Most floors show a salt-and-pepper look after it. This cut is already in your price.
We sell passes at a production rate, and we do not promise how much rock they will show. The same 2 passes show different things on different slabs. On 1 slab the small rock sits right under the cream, and the floor shows plenty of it. On another, the rock sits deeper, and the same cut shows mostly sand. Nobody can see that until the first pass is down.
Keep cutting toward full aggregate
If you want more rock than our standard cut shows, you can pick “keep cutting toward full aggregate” on your quote. We keep cutting with coarser tools until you say stop or the rock shows. It costs $67 per hour, counted by the crew hour as worked.
- Pros: You choose the look while you watch it happen, and you stop when you like what you see. A full aggregate floor is often very pretty.
- Cons: Nobody can say how deep the rock is, so nobody can say how many hours it takes. A full aggregate cut takes about 2 to 4 times the hours of our standard cut. A deep cut can also reach rebar or a grade stake left in the slab, and it usually needs extra densifier.
The rock itself is a gamble too. Some mixes have pretty rock. Some have plain gray rock, and once it shows, the only way back to less rock is a new slab or an overlay laid on top of the one you have.
The primary cut stays in your price
Picking keep cutting does not replace our standard cut. It adds hours on top of it, billed per crew hour as worked. Those hours are not in your quote total.
How do these words get mixed up?
You may see other crews call a 400 or 800 grit step “salt and pepper.” That is wrong. It is a polish step, not a cut depth. Salt and pepper comes from the cut, and no polish grit can show rock that the cut did not reach. When you compare quotes, ask each crew what grit they cut with first. That number tells you what the floor will show.
Cut depth is 1 of 4 defect groups on your quote. See them all on the polished concrete slab defects guide, or go back to your quote to make your pick.
