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Powdery concrete?

by Scott
(Los Angeles, CA)

Q. Hi, our fraternity house's landlord had our backyard pool filled in and replaced with a large amount of concrete. Now, all but one section of the new concrete has a powdery finish to it. We installed a basketball hoop, and the concrete is slick and the powder gets all over basketballs. What would be the best kind of process we could use to eliminate the powder and increase the court's traction?

A. This is called dusting. It's common with slick finished concrete. Usually an easy remedy is to apply a sealer but that would not solve the traction problem. A better solution would be to acid etch it with diluted muriatic acid or etching solution. Dilute muriatic acid to 5 parts water:1 part acid and spray it on the surface. Soak it real good and work it in with a push broom while it's wet. Be very careful with the acid. Use rubber gloves and safety glasses and pour the acid into the water. Not only will this get rid of the loose cement powder, but it will also open the pores of the concrete for better traction. You can seal it with concrete sealer but the surface must be neutralized with baking soda or ammonia first.

Scott in CA