Sika Sikafloor CureHard-24
A single-part sodium silicate liquid that penetrates and chemically densifies concrete floors, cutting dusting and lifting abrasion resistance without any surface film.
What is it?
A one-part, clear sodium silicate liquid hardener, dustproofer and densifier that reacts inside the concrete to bind free lime and toughen the wearing surface.
Where is it used?
Horizontal interior and exterior concrete floors in warehouses, factories, malls, parking decks, service stations, hangars and on precast elements.
Why use it?
It stops cement dusting, raises abrasion resistance by over 70 percent, seals the surface and builds a low-maintenance gloss with regular cleaning.
How is it applied?
Sprayed onto prepared concrete with an HVLP unit, scrubbed in for around 30 minutes until it gels, then rinsed and squeegeed off; one to two coats.
About Sika Sikafloor CureHard-24
Sikafloor CureHard-24 is Sika’s high-solids, single-part sodium silicate treatment for concrete floors that need to stay hard, dust-free and easy to clean. It is not a coating and it is not a paint. Instead, it is a reactive liquid that soaks into the top layer of the slab and chemically converts the free lime left over from cement hydration into dense, insoluble silicate crystals. The result is a floor that is harder and tighter at the surface than the concrete you started with, yet still looks and feels like concrete. For distribution centres, production halls and retail floors across India where an epoxy or PU build-up is either unnecessary or too expensive over vast areas, this kind of penetrating densifier is often the most sensible specification.
The product carries roughly 24 percent solids by mass and a density of about 1.2 kg/l, which is what lets it react hard and deep rather than simply drying on top. Independent European test data backs the performance: more than a 70 percent increase in abrasion resistance over untreated concrete (EN ISO 5470-1), a tensile adhesion strength of around 4.8 N/mm² (EN 1542), Class III impact resistance at about 60 Nm (EN 6272-1), and a penetration depth near 5.5 mm (EN 1504-2). Because it is water-borne, one-part and ready to use straight from the pail, it suits large-area contract work where mixing errors and pot-life pressure need to be designed out. Space Arc Engineering supplies it as an authorised Sika project distributor to contractors and consultants across Delhi NCR and Pan-India.
The technical insight
The mechanism is a lime-silicate reaction, not a bond to the surface. Ordinary concrete always contains free calcium hydroxide, the soft, soluble by-product of cement hydration, and it is this material that powders off as dust and erodes under traffic. When Sikafloor CureHard-24 is scrubbed into a clean, open floor, the soluble sodium silicate migrates into the capillary pores and reacts with that free lime to form calcium silicate hydrate, the same hard, gel-like compound that gives set cement its strength. As those crystals grow they fill the near-surface pore structure, so the floor becomes denser and less permeable while its wear layer becomes measurably harder. Two practical consequences follow. First, permeability drops gradually rather than instantly, because the reaction continues as long as lime and moisture are present, which is why maximum sealing and hardening is only reached after about seven days. Second, the characteristic sheen is a polishing effect, not a gloss film: repeated mechanical cleaning burnishes the now-hardened surface, so gloss keeps developing over roughly 30 to 90 days depending on how often the floor is scrubbed. Nothing sits on top to peel, chip or delaminate.
Where it is used
- Dustproofing and hardening warehouse and distribution-centre floors subject to constant forklift and pallet traffic
- Densifying production and assembly floors in manufacturing plants and industrial units
- Treating parking structures, ramps and service-station decks exposed to tyre wear
- Sealing retail, showroom and shopping-mall concrete for a clean, low-maintenance finish
- Dustproofing precast and prefabricated concrete elements before dispatch or installation
- Hardening aircraft hangar and logistics-yard floors carrying heavy point loads
- Preparing power-trowelled slabs that are to be later polished or mechanically burnished
- Refurbishing dusty, worn older concrete floors where a full coating system is not warranted
Key advantages
- Penetrates and reacts within the slab, so there is no film to peel, blister or delaminate under traffic
- Raises abrasion resistance by more than 70 percent over untreated concrete (EN ISO 5470-1)
- Single-part and ready to use straight from the container, removing mixing and pot-life risk on large pours
- Sharply reduces cement dusting, improving air quality and housekeeping in stores and production areas
- Water-borne and odourless, allowing application in occupied or poorly ventilated interiors
- Builds a natural, maintenance-driven gloss without wax or a separate topcoat
- Very good yellowing resistance keeps the treated surface looking consistent over time
- Economical to cover very large floor areas compared with epoxy or polyurethane build-ups
Limitations & considerations
- It is a densifier, not a decorative or high-build coating; it will not deliver colour, a thick wear layer or heavy chemical protection
- It cannot rescue poor concrete with low cement content, and is not intended for lightweight, extremely porous or aggregate-exposed slabs
- It will not hide serious staining or existing heavy wear, so cosmetic expectations must be managed
- Treated surfaces must not be wetted for at least three days after application or efflorescence may form, which can only be removed mechanically
- Existing curing compounds, membrane sealers or asphalt must be fully removed first, as the product cannot penetrate through them
- Before any subsequent coating is applied, the densified surface must be mechanically opened by shot blasting or grinding
Selection & best practice
Start with a sound, clean, open-textured floor: fresh concrete should have been water-cured for at least seven days, while old floors need high-pressure washing and full removal of laitance, oils, coatings and loose material, then drying. Apply between +5°C and +35°C. Spray Sikafloor CureHard-24 in a continuous film with a high-volume, low-pressure unit that has never held silicone or release agents, leaving no dry spots. Scrub the wet material into the surface with a soft broom or scrubbing machine for at least 30 minutes until it starts to gel and turn slippery; on hot days (above +25°C) apply extra product to keep the surface wet for the full 30 minutes so it penetrates before gelling. Lightly re-wet and rework for another 10 to 20 minutes, then rinse and remove all excess with a squeegee or wet vacuum before it dries, since dried residue leaves white stains that are hard to clear. Budget 0.20 to 0.25 l/m² per coat, and add a second coat on porous, rough or broom-finished floors. Do not wet the floor for three days afterwards, and expect full hardening at about seven days with gloss continuing to develop over the following weeks of normal cleaning.
Specifications
| Composition | Single-part sodium silicate, water dilution |
| Solid content by mass | ~24% |
| Density | ~1.2 kg/l at +20°C |
| Appearance / colour | Clear liquid |
| Consumption | 0.20-0.25 l/m² per coat on power-trowelled concrete |
| Yield | 4-6 m²/l per coat (theoretical) |
| Abrasion resistance | >70% increase vs untreated (EN ISO 5470-1) |
| Tensile adhesion strength | ~4.8 N/mm² (EN 1542) |
| Penetration depth | ~5.5 mm (EN 1504-2) |
| Application temperature | +5°C to +35°C (air and substrate) |
| Full sealing & hardening | ~7 days at +20°C |
| Packaging | 20 L pails and 200 L drums |
| Shelf life | 24 months from production, unopened |
Industry use cases
Warehousing & Logistics
Hardens and dustproofs high-throughput distribution floors so forklift and pallet traffic no longer generates cement dust, keeping stored goods and racking cleaner.
Manufacturing & Industrial
Densifies production and assembly-hall slabs to resist abrasion from trolleys, machinery and point loads while keeping the floor a bare, easily inspected concrete surface.
Retail & Commercial
Seals mall, showroom and big-box retail concrete to a clean, progressively glossy finish that is cheap to maintain across very large footprints.
Parking & Infrastructure
Treats multi-level car parks, ramps and service-station decks where tyre scuffing and constant vehicle movement would otherwise wear and dust untreated concrete.
Precast & Prefabrication
Dustproofs precast panels and elements at the yard before dispatch, delivering a harder, cleaner surface on components installed off-site.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sikafloor CureHard-24 sodium silicate or lithium silicate based?
Will it give my floor a colour or a glossy coating?
How much do I need per square metre?
Can I apply it to a brand-new concrete slab?
When can the floor be used and washed after treatment?
Can I later put an epoxy or PU coating over a CureHard-24 floor?
How we position Sika Sikafloor CureHard-24
Position Sikafloor CureHard-24 as the go-to penetrating densifier when a bare concrete floor simply needs to stop dusting and wear better, without the cost or downtime of a full coating. Within the Sika family it pairs naturally with Sika’s epoxy and PU Sikafloor systems where a decorative or chemically resistant finish is later required, and with Sika curing and repair products used earlier in the slab’s life. Where a client prefers the Fosroc range, the genuinely equivalent product is Fosroc Nitoflor Lithurin 2, also a clear sodium silicate liquid densifier and dustproofer working on the same lime-silicate reaction. For heavy-impact zones that need a thick sacrificial wear layer rather than a densifier, we would instead recommend a dry-shake floor hardener such as Fosroc Nitoflor Hardtop or a Sika trowel-applied topping, and for polished-concrete programmes a lithium silicate densifier is often the better technical fit.
Fosroc Nitoflor Lithurin 2 — A specifier already standardised on Fosroc can choose Nitoflor Lithurin 2, which is the same clear sodium silicate densifier-dustproofer chemistry as CureHard-24 and works by the identical lime-silicate reaction.
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Authorised distribution, technical advice & professional application across Delhi NCR and Pan-India.