MC-Bauchemie Centrament Surface Pro
The German de-airing admixture that turns bug-holed, porous concrete into dense, fair-faced surfaces — dosed straight into the mix, no extra site process.
What is it?
A liquid anti-foaming (de-airing) admixture from MC-Bauchemie, dosed at 0.1-0.5% of cement weight to strip entrapped air out of fresh concrete before it can set as surface pores.
Where is it used?
Ready-mix batching plants, precast yards and site-batched fair-faced/exposed concrete works across Delhi NCR and pan-India — architectural columns and walls, precast panels, water-retaining structures and any pour where a clean as-struck finish is specified.
Why use it?
Ordinary concrete traps roughly 1-3% air as micro-bubbles that migrate to the formwork face and lock in as bug-holes, blowholes and pinholes — expensive to patch and never fully invisible. Centrament Surface Pro collapses that entrapped air during mixing, giving a denser matrix and a visibly cleaner surface without altering the rest of the mix design.
How is it applied?
Added during batching — either blended into the gauging/mixing water or dosed directly into the mixer drum alongside other admixtures. MC-Bauchemie specifies a minimum 90-second mixing time so the de-airing action works through the full batch before discharge.
About MC-Bauchemie Centrament Surface Pro
Centrament Surface Pro is a liquid, yellowish anti-foaming admixture built for one specific job: pulling entrapped air out of fresh concrete before it becomes a cosmetic or durability problem on the hardened surface. Technically it sits under EN 934-2 as a T9-type (waterproofing) admixture — a classification that sounds odd for a product marketed around surface finish, but it reflects how the product actually works. By reducing the air voids in the fresh mix, it also densifies the paste at the surface zone, which independent testing shows cuts capillary water absorption versus an untreated control batch. So the fair-faced benefit that contractors notice on demoulding — fewer bug-holes, fewer blowholes, less grinding and patching — comes bundled with a genuine, third-party-verified reduction in how much water the near-surface concrete will draw in later.
For Space Arc’s Delhi NCR and pan-India client base, this product earns its place on jobs where the concrete itself is the finish: exposed RCC columns and soffits on premium residential and institutional buildings, precast architectural panels, metro and rail segments where both appearance and durability specs apply, and water-retaining structures (tanks, STPs, WTPs) that benefit from lower capillary absorption without switching to a full waterproofing-admixture system. It’s not a substitute for your plant’s existing plasticizer or superplasticizer — it’s dosed alongside it, at a modest 0.1-0.5% of cement weight, which keeps the per-cubic-metre cost addition low relative to the finishing labour it typically saves. As with any admixture combination, we push every ready-mix client toward a proper trial batch with their actual cement, aggregate and existing admixture line-up before locking in a production dosage — the manufacturer’s own EN 934-2 declaration requires the treated mix to hold at least 85% of the control mix’s 28-day strength, so that trial batch is how you confirm your specific mix design clears that bar comfortably.
The technical insight
The EN 934-2: T9 tag is worth understanding rather than skimming past. T9 in the EN 934-2 framework covers admixtures assessed specifically on their ability to reduce capillary water absorption relative to an untreated control mix — MC-Bauchemie’s own Declaration of Performance (ref. 1694000, notified body KIT-MPA Karlsruhe, ID 0754) declares ≤50% of control absorption at 7 days and ≤60% of control at 28 days after 90-day curing. That’s a real, independently verified durability number, not marketing language — it happens to be achieved through the de-airing mechanism rather than a pore-blocking or crystalline-waterproofing mechanism, which is why the product reads as a “surface finish” admixture on the front of the data sheet but carries a waterproofing-category EN classification on the back. The practical implication for specifiers: don’t treat this as interchangeable with an integral crystalline waterproofer for structures with a hard water-ingress requirement (basements, water-retaining tanks under pressure) — treat it as a genuine but secondary durability improvement layered on top of good mix design, adequate cover and proper compaction. The other number worth flagging is the strength floor: the declared 28-day compressive strength of the test mixture must reach ≥85% of the control mixture, which is a compliance minimum, not a target — for structural elements, dose toward the lower end of the 0.1-0.5% range and confirm actual strength gain/loss on your specific mix before scaling to full pours.
Where it is used
- Fair-faced/exposed architectural RCC columns, walls and soffits
- Precast and prefabricated concrete elements — facade panels, staircases, architectural units
- Water-retaining structures (STP/WTP tanks, reservoirs) needing lower capillary absorption concrete
- Ready-mix concrete supplied to premium residential and commercial towers
- Metro, rail and bridge segments/viaducts where exposed finish and durability specs both apply
- Self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixes prone to trapped-air surface blemishes
- Addition to recycling/reclaimed water systems at RMC batching plants
- Institutional, hospitality and museum facades where a bare-concrete cosmetic finish is specified
Key advantages
- Visibly reduces bug-holes, blowholes and pinholes on as-struck concrete, cutting rubbing/patching labour and cost
- EN 934-2: T9-certified reduction in capillary water absorption — a genuine durability gain, not just a cosmetic one
- Very low dosage (0.1-0.5% of cement) keeps the cost addition modest per cubic metre
- Fits standard batching sequence — added with mixing water or directly into the drum, no special equipment needed
- Liquid form integrates with existing RMC dosing pumps and dispensers
- Chloride content <0.10% and alkaline content <1.0% keep it safe for reinforced and prestressed work
- Manufactured under EN ISO 9001 QA with third-party notified-body oversight (KIT-MPA Karlsruhe, 0754)
- Backed by MC-Bauchemie’s concrete-technology consulting support for mix trials and dosage optimisation
Limitations & considerations
- A de-airing/surface-quality admixture, not a waterproofing membrane or crystalline system — it will not stop water ingress through cracks, construction joints or hydrostatic pressure points
- Needs a minimum ~90-second mixing time to develop its full de-airing effect; rushed batching undercuts the benefit
- Dosage and compatibility must be trial-batched with your specific cement, aggregate and existing plasticizer/retarder before full-scale pours, as with any admixture combination
- Manufacturer’s published data sheet does not carry an India-specific IS-code classification, so specification writers referencing IS standards should confirm compliance mapping with MC-Bauchemie’s India technical team
- Strength performance is declared as a floor (≥85% of control at 28 days), not a strength-enhancing benefit — mix design should not lean on this product for strength gain
- Yellowish liquid concentrate has no effect on hardened concrete colour, but batching crews should be briefed to avoid mix-ups with other liquid admixtures on site
Selection & best practice
Trial-batch at the lower end of the 0.1-0.5% dosage window for structural fair-faced elements, and always run a control (untreated) batch alongside it so you have a real benchmark for strength and surface quality. Confirm the plant’s mixer can actually hold the recommended 90-second minimum mixing time — this is the single most common reason de-airing admixtures underperform on site. Check compatibility with whatever superplasticizer or retarder is already in the mix design before scaling up, and keep drums sealed and away from frost and direct sun in storage, as with any liquid admixture.
Specifications
| Form / Appearance | Liquid, yellowish |
| Density | 1.0 kg/dm³ (tested at 21°C ±2°C, 50% RH) |
| Recommended dosage | 0.1–0.5% by mass of cement |
| Admixture classification | Waterproofing-type admixture, EN 934-2: T9 |
| Chloride content (max) | < 0.10% by mass |
| Alkaline content (max) | < 1.0% by mass |
| 28-day compressive strength | ≥ 85% of control mixture (EN 934-2 Table 9) |
| Capillary water absorption | ≤ 50% of control (7-day) / ≤ 60% of control (28-day, after 90-day curing) |
| Pack sizes | 200 kg drums; 1,000 kg IBC container |
Industry use cases
Premium residential & institutional
Exposed RCC facade columns on a Delhi NCR residential tower where the architect specified an unpainted, bare-concrete look — dosed at the ready-mix plant to cut patch-and-rub finishing time on demoulding.
Precast / prefabrication
Precast staircase flights and architectural panels at a Delhi NCR precast yard, reducing surface blowholes on units meant for direct display finish without secondary treatment.
Water & wastewater infrastructure
STP/WTP tank walls needing measurably lower capillary absorption concrete without moving to a full crystalline waterproofing-admixture system.
Metro, rail & bridge works
Segmental viaduct or station elements carrying both an exposed-finish specification and a durability/absorption requirement in the same pour.
Self-compacting concrete (SCC)
SCC mixes prone to trapped-air surface blemishes, dosed into the mixing water at the batching plant alongside the SCC viscosity-modifying admixture.
Frequently asked questions
Does Centrament Surface Pro replace our existing superplasticizer?
What dosage should we start with?
Will it affect our 28-day concrete strength?
Is it suitable for water-retaining structures like STPs or basements?
What pack sizes and shelf life should we plan for?
Can it go into recycled/reclaimed water at our RMC plant?
How we position MC-Bauchemie Centrament Surface Pro
Within MC-Bauchemie’s own range, Centrament Surface Pro is a specialist add-on rather than a core admixture — it works alongside the Centrament family of plasticizers and superplasticizers that Space Arc already supplies for workability and strength, not in place of them, so the practical move for most ready-mix and precast clients is layering it onto whatever Centrament-based mix design is already running rather than reworking the whole admixture program. On the competitive side, Fosroc’s Conplast range — which Space Arc also stocks — is strong on plasticizers, retarders and integral waterproofers but doesn’t carry a direct, EN 934-2: T9-classified de-airing/surface-improvement counterpart, so there isn’t a genuine like-for-like Fosroc swap for this specific job. For projects chasing a fair-faced finish with a documented durability benefit, that makes Centrament Surface Pro effectively a category of one in Space Arc’s current portfolio; where budget or brand-standardisation considerations matter more than the exact mechanism, the more relevant comparison is MC-Bauchemie’s own broader Centrament portfolio rather than a cross-brand substitute.
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