Hot take: I finished edges with a steel trowel too early on every slab for 6 years

Ruby Smith · 2026-09-10T16:05:21.787213+00:00

Honestly I always thought a steel trowel right after floating was the pro move because it made the surface look so smooth and shiny. I was working a 30x40 shop slab out in Midland last month and the guy I was finishing with, Marcus, kept telling me to wait. I brushed him off, hit it with steel, and watched the whole thing blister and craze on me by the next morning. He walked over, ran his hand across it, and just said "you sealed the bleed water in, man." That was the lightbulb for me. All those little dark patches and hairline cracks I blamed on the mix or the heat were my own fault for troweling before the sheen left the surface. Now I wait for that dull look and my slabs have been coming out so much cleaner. Anyone else get burned by jumping to steel too soon, or is it just me that had to learn it the hard way?

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Hot take: I finished edges with a steel trowel too early on every slab for 6 years | Concrete Finishers - The Community Guide