Engrave-A-Crete has announced the arrival of the Mongoose Air, brother to the original decorative concrete engraving saw, the Mongoose 411.

Both make radial and straight cuts in endless patterns on concrete surfaces, and both can be attached to a center pivot circle-cutting kit for perfect arc and circle cuts. Unlike the original, the Mongoose Air is powered by compressed air instead of electricity and is equipped with a vacuum port. Attach a dry-vac for excellent dust control, or combine a wet-vac with the Mongoose Air's optional water-mist dust-control system for the ultimate ability to engrave beautiful designs into existing concrete with zero dust.

The tool comes complete with wide hightraction wheels, blade-changing tools and a training video.

Concrete engraving is the act of remodeling existing (cured) concrete by cutting patterns and texture into the surface. Engraved designs and patterns simulate building materials such as brick, tile, stone, pavers or a ranging variety of graphic elements. Geometric patterns with straight, circular or serpentine lines and custom designs are cut directly into the surface of the concrete. Decorative concrete engraving adds depth and dimension plus it is commonly used as a color separation technique.

Several tools have been designed specifically for or adapted for concrete engraving. Intersecting lines and graphic elements are easily controlled with precision tools which have appropriate cutters. Dust control, for many reasons is a necessity. Most engraving tools have shrouds and guards which attach to standard shop vacuums. Pneumatic tools have combination water/vacuum dust control. The bottom of the engraved area is as visually important as the surface, making accurate depth control essential. Engraved kerfs may range from very narrow to very wide, depending on the design parameters. Kerf depths are typically 1/16th, 3/32nds or 1/8th inch deep. Depth of the engraved lines can be purely aesthetic or functional. A deeper engraving is required in order to hold sufficient amounts of an epoxy or grout in the recessed area.

Concrete engraving tools, whether they are pneumatic or electric, cut the surface with various methods including: abrasive diamond blades, sand blasting, shot blasting, micro-rod impaction and reciprocating stylus. There are tools that can be used in combination with design templates to achieve exacting graphics and beautiful artistic results. Templates can be made of a variety of material including single use adhesive-backed vinyl or reusable nonmarking plastic. Engraving tools can be controlled with tracking systems to make perfect circles, arcs or straight lines or to efficiently produce patterns like brick.

Although tile patterned flooring is a common theme, engraving is used to reproduce or enlarge original artistic designs and graphics, for restoration or make-over projects for vintage concrete, producing specialty logos, traffic warning symbols or textures and thousands of patterns. Some patterns can also serve as decorative safety grooving. The most typical method used is to color the cured concrete surface before engraving. Coloring is accomplished by use of a variety of chemical agents, although reactive acid chemical stains, water based, solvated stains and/or concrete dyes are the most commonly used methods.

Wherever there is concrete there is a great likelihood that it can be made more attractive. Locations include residential, commercial, industrial, recreational theme parks, or event center mezzanines. Engraving can be done in both interior and exterior locations.

Existing concrete is an energy bank where huge amounts of fuel and man-hours are stored. Existing concrete contains the energy used to mine, manufacture and transport cement, aggregate and multiple other ingredients. Those ingredients are delivered to an energy consuming batch plant to be dumped into an energy consuming truck to transport to a job site where large amounts of fuel were consumed in preparation to place the concrete. Then more man power with more fuel was consumed to form, pour and finish that same concrete. Therefore, the lowest energy-consuming solution is to remodel existing concrete and enhance it in-situ to save fuel, energy and man-power. Concrete, either new or vintage, can be reused and re-purposed more than once before its end of life.

Finishing requirements for engraving is any traditional finish, including skin-stamped concrete, broom finished, smooth trowel and salt finish. New concrete should be fully cured before the staining and engraving processes are applied.

Nearly any existing finish or surface can be used although the pattern should complement the surface. For instance, a highly textured flagstone pattern will look best for pitted and/or cracked slabs but a smooth tile look would not. Existing concrete should be thoroughly cleaned before processing.

The design typically influences the choice of equipment and type of templates used (if needed). Templates may require temporary fastening in place to prevent movement during the application. Always consult the manufacturer's directions for complete details and recommended applications.

Email info@engraveacrete.com or call their toll-free number 1-800 884-2114 for more info.

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