| Machinery
on the horizon
Matt Casto, vice president of technical
services for Bomanite Corp. in California, says the mottled
look has become more prevalent with the introduction of polymer-modified
micro-toppings. "The thinness of the material has made
it very cost effective to blend colors together," he
says. "You can put down two to three colors, quickly
and mottle them together by dragging them on, brushing them
on or spraying them on." And now there's another option:
you can "HoverTrowel" them.
Makers of HoverTrowel, a pneumatic-driven
power trowel initially developed to finish decorative aggregate
epoxy floors, are working with a number of manufacturers to
establish a niche in this market with accessories and modifications
designed specifically for overlayments. Industry experts are
experimenting with various RPM and torque-load motors with
weights to determine the optimum method and timing for these
polymermodified applications.
According to Drew Fagley, president
of HoverTrowel Inc., this power trowel can be used in lieu
of hand troweling or on occasion in place of conventional
trowels. "The resulting finish is consistently uniform
and flat," he says.
Fagley sees the machine as a big plus
when hard troweling multiple colors into a surface. Conventional
power trowels are too heavy for some surfaces or don't achieve
the desired effect, he says, so crews currently finish the
job by hand. It's in these instances that the lightweight
HoverTrowel is finding success. The machine can be used effectively
to hard trowel in colors, thus reducing manpower and finishing
time. "Instead of six guys going out with kneeboards,
we can outfit an operator and a support man with float shoes
we call slides -- which are basically kneeboards for your
feet."
Various types of motors are available
to supply different torque loads for the more resin rich systems
as well as today's newer polymer toppings. Additional weight,
in 2 pound increments up to 22 pounds, can be added to further
fine tune the trowel's performance.
In addition to the standard tool --
steel blades, stainless-steel and composite blades are available
-- as well as various float blades made of mahogany, magnesium,
aluminum or laminated resin-to eliminate unsightly burnishing
marks and to produce various finishes.
"About the only thing you can't
change about the HoverTrowel are the results," Fagley
says with a laugh. It has an extension handle that doubles
its length in six-inch increments. Two different diameter
guards are available to complement the multiple blade and
float sizes. And soon a four-cycle retrofit motor will be
on the market.
"We've played around with
the HoverTrowel and I believe that it's going to be a good
tool to burnish micro toppings with," says Bomanite's
Casto. "It's lightweight and has the ability to get onto
that material quickly."
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