Early in its development diamond polishing concrete required water to prevent the resin-bonded diamonds from friction overheating during the polishing process and to keep the concrete dust from filling the room. The slurry created by the water and concrete dust had to be collected and disposed of in an environmentally responsible way. This lead to more labor hours and higher costs.
New developments in technology since those early years have made dry polishing possible. Changes in the materials used to make resin bonded diamonds have solved the overheating process and eliminated the need for water to be used in the polishing process. Very high efficiency vacuum system fitted with HEPA filters collect the concrete dust, eliminating most of the cleanup process. In rare cases, some water may be used in the final fine polishing phase, but the use of water is limited and cleanup is not a major issue.
