Pro tip: that shiny wet look on a slab is usually the float, not the mix

I watched a crew last Thursday in Mesa finish a 12 by 20 patio and they kept adding water to get that glassy sheen. By the time they got off it, the surface was so wet it was basically soup and the cream peeled up under the trowel two hours later. Here is what most guys miss: the shine comes from proper floating, not from drowning the mix. I run a mag float first, let it set until my boot leaves a print about an eighth deep, then hit it with the steel. If you have to splash water on it to keep it workable, you waited too long or you poured too wet in the first place. I learned this the hard way on a 400 square foot driveway off Southern Ave that ended up with a map of cracks by spring. Anyone else see crews fighting this same thing, or is it just the heat down here?