What are microcements?

Microcements are a range of beautiful and versatile products used to coat walls and floors in an ever growing array of decorative finishes. Originally a blend of cement, aggregates and polymers they were designed to create a product that combined strength, flexibility and ease of use. Traditionally a repair for existing concrete these microcements have developed into one of the most popular of decorative trends.

As with all products advances in technology now mean that there are two different types of microcement, cement based and resin based. For more information and how to choose which one is right for your project see our article Which Microcement Should I Use?

What is Politura?

Politura is Achtis Groups range of microcements, primers, pre-sealers and sealers. See the Politura product page for more information

Can Politura microcement be used in a bathroom/shower room?

Yes, Politura microcement can be used in a bathroom and even used to create the shower enclosure and tray. Water resistance is added using a solvented sealer, see Micro Sol + for more details.

Where can I use Politura?

Politura can be used in any room in a house, office, warehouse, café, shop, library, football stadium, student accommodation, school, gallery, car park, etc

Politura can be applied to any flat and level surface i.e.

• Floors
• Walls
• Worktops
• Fire surrounds
• Shelving
• Display equipment and Furniture

Can Politura be used with underfloor heating?

Yes, Politura can be used with underfloor heating.

Can Politura be used outside?

Yes, Politura can be used outside.

What surface can I apply Politura microcement to?

Due to its fantastic bond strength – verified in independent testing – Politura can be applied to a range of surfaces including:

• Concrete
• Self-levelling Compounds
• Screeds
• Timber
• Tiles
• Metal

Is Politura slip resistant?

Slip resistance can be created in several different ways:

• Applying Politura in a textured finish
• Not over polishing a linen or smooth finish
• Finishing with a slip resistant sealer, Micro Sol PTR10 which incorporates glass bead technology and has a slip rating of R10

Is Politura hard wearing?

Yes, Politura is hard wearing – the quartz used as the aggregate part of the product is an extremely hard product.

Will Politura crack?

The polymers in Politura mean that the product itself will not crack. However, Politura is for surface coverage only and if the base it is applied to has a crack or is subject to movement cracks may appear. Think of cracks in plaster as a house settles or settlement or stress cracks in a concrete floor or base mirroring through in the grout around a tile.

What can I do about the cracks I already have?

There is not simple answer to this question. Quite simply it will depend on what the crack is, where it is, what caused the crack and will there continue to be a problem?

The best thing to do in this situation is to speak to a specialist. Our technical team have nearly 50 years’ experience in the construction industry and have seen pretty much every version of a crack that is known on a building site or in a property. Please do not hesitate to call us on 01472 268865 and we’ll be happy to help.

What is the Politura System and how is it applied?

The Politura System is a range of products that have been engineered to work together to create beautiful and hard wearing microcements.

The range includes: –

• Politura Primer, which can be used for use on all surfaces
• Medium, Fine and Smooth microcements which can be used separately or in conjunction with one another to create your desired finish
  • Medium – 300 microns – larger sand grains for strength and durability
  • Fine – 50 microns – smaller sand grains to fit between the gaps of the Medium coats to create a smoother finish. Easier to polish
  • Smooth – 10 microns – fills in irregularities in the Medium coat giving a more industrial Salt and Pepper look
• Politura Pre-Seal is optional and applied to ensure that there are no bond breakers between the surface and the sealer and to reduce the chance of roller marks when applying a polyurethane sealer
• One of a range of impregnators/densifiers and polyurethane sealers. The correct finishing product is extremely important, not only to ensure you get the look you want but to ensure the performance of the finished floor – see questions on Sealers for more details

What size kits is Politura supplied in?

• Politura Primer – 1kg and 5kg jerricans
• Politura Medium microcement – 2kg and 10kg buckets
• Politura Fine microcement – 2kg and 10kg buckets
• Politura Smooth – 2kg and 10kg buckets
• Politura Pre- Seal – 1kg and 5kg jerricans
• Bi Sol Impregnator – 1kg and 5kg jerricans
• Politura Carbon Finish – 1kg and 5kg jerricans
• Micro Sol Clear Polyurethane Sealer – 1kg and 5kg jerricans
• Micro Sol +, Solvented Clear Polyurethane Sealer – 5kg and 10kg metal tins.

Do I have to use a mesh?

No. It is not necessary to use a mesh.

Politura has been formulated with enough flexibility and strength to ensure that it does not need any reinforcing mesh. This makes it a quicker and easier system to use.

Do I have to add a resin?

No.

Politura is a “Just Add Water” product, the polymers are in powder form and already mixed with the sand and cement.

Do I have to add colour to the Politura?

No.

Politura is supplied either in neutral (an off white) or is pre-coloured to order. This ensures that each job has been coloured as a batch so the colour is the same throughout the job regardless of its size.

Is there a minimum order?

No. We are happy to supply small, pre-coloured kits to order.

What is the lead time on an order?

As the product is made here in the UK it is the colouring to order that takes the time, typically 3 – 4 days.

All deliveries to the UK are next day. Delivery times for the rest of Europe will vary, please ask for more details about your address.

How many colours are there?

We offer 27 standard colours, please see the colour chart for further details.

Can I have a sample?

Yes, we have small samples of finished Politura that we can post out to you. Please bear in mind that with 5 finishes, 8 sealers and 27 colours we can’t always provide an exact replica of the finish you would like to see.

Do you do sample kits?

Yes, we do provide sample kits please call our office to discuss further on 01472 268865.

If you are looking to specify a certain look for a project we suggest you consult your contractor and they will create a sample to your requirements.

Can I have more than one colour sample to compare?

Yes, we are happy to send out small samples for colour comparisons. These samples are small bags of the powder that have been pre-coloured. They are smaller than a hard copy so it’s easier to send out several colours together.

The wonderful thing with these samples is that they are an exact representation of the colours available and are much more accurate than anything you can see on a screen or printed in a colour chart.

There may be some slight variation between the samples and the exact product due to the nature of the pigments used. This is no different to slight changes in batches of paint or wallpaper for example.

Can I order a specific colour?

Whilst we can pigment Politura to any colour a customer may require, we are limited to the fact that we are using natural pigments. Matching a specific RAL code is not always possible, however we will endeavour to make a batch as close as possible should a customer require it.

This can be a lengthy process so we advise at least a 4-week lead time to give us the chance to mix a colour and have it approved by the customer before production.