DAE still float their edges by hand? A finisher in Tulsa called my magnesium float a crutch and now I am second guessing myself

Miles Scott · 2026-09-18T08:00:04.78412+00:00

I have been finishing slabs for 14 years and always grabbed a magnesium float for the first pass without thinking twice about it. Last month I was on a 40x60 shop pour outside Tulsa and an old timer named Ray watched me work for about 20 minutes, then said my edges looked like I was icing a cake instead of finishing concrete. He told me he had not touched a mag float since 1998 and does all his open work with a wood float and a fresno, says the mag seals the surface too fast and traps bleed water under the cream. I argued with him for a bit, but then he showed me a slab he poured two days earlier and the finish was tighter than anything I get with my usual routine. I tried his way on half of that shop pour and the wood float let me read the mix a lot better, I could actually see where it was setting up instead of guessing. Now I am wondering how much of my finishing style is just habit passed down from the guy who trained me back in 2010. Any of you all float everything by hand still, or has everyone moved on to mags and power trowels for the first pass?

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DAE still float their edges by hand? A finisher in Tulsa called my magnesium float a crutch and now I am second guessing myself | Concrete Finishers - Guest Forum