Making concrete "pretty"

[Pizza Freak]

Hi All,
I'm finishing up my Casa 90 in a gable house style...the whole thing has been a kick. I'm trying to get the roof on before the rains come here in NorCal.

My one question is, and I'm assuming I'll do a good job of stucco-ing, relates to the bit of concrete I have exposed outside my oven...mainly in the front. It is probably the ugliest part of my adventure in putting the WFO together. It ain't bad, but I'd like to pretty it up.

Has anyone tried to "polish" or grind down a poured slab (this is hand poured "Sakcrete") on exposed portions to maybe clean it up and expose a little aggregate from the interior? I'd like to remove the rough edges resulting from my forms and try to make the bit of exposed slab a tad more presentable.

Any ideas?
Thanks,
PF

[nissanneill]

Re: Making concrete "pretty"

Hi Pizza Freak,
you have a few options, but you could have had nothing to do once you removed your form work had you vibrated the boards whilst the concrete was just poured. It would have left a faithful reproduction of the inside of your forming, smooth if they were smooth, wood grained if they were sandblasted or rough if they were only rough sawn boards.
However, since you need advice, you can:
? make a slurry of Portland cement and fine sand and 'plaster' the area. You can also add a little oxide to colour it if preferred.
? get a sanding disk or diamond stone and grind on an angle grinder it smooth,
? tile it with ceramic tiles,
? glue/secure some stainless steel sheeting (or laminex/formica if not hot areas) over it, or
? if it is not going to get hot, paint it with one of those texturing paints.

Neill