“But they told me it was Mineral Fox microcement?”

“but they told me it was mineral fox?”

These were the words of a distraught client who contacted me this month after having what she thought was our Mercadier Decoration ‘microcement’ installed in her home. She said she was unhappy with the result and asked me how she could go about fixing it, given the applicator wasn’t responding to her calls.

This was unusual. We’ve been getting more messages like this over the past 6 months, but never regarding our own product (Mercadier Decoration layered/waxed concrete). Also the images she sent me (see below) didn’t look like our product. “Are you sure that’s our product?” I asked. She told me she believed so and that she had done her research and had asked the applicator for the colour ‘Cocomilk’. She said he prepared a sample and she approved it. Hmmm it didn’t make sense. It didn’t look like our product, and the applicators who order from us regularly would never leave a project like that. After a little more digging, I asked who the applicator was (as to date, we have worked with a small group of trusted applicators). Then I knew for sure it wasn’t our material – the applicator hadn’t worked with us or ordered product from us in more than 6 months. I asked her what the product packaging looked like, and that confirmed it – the applicator had told her that he was using Mineral Fox (Mercadier Decoration), but in fact used another product and wasn’t able to finish it to an acceptable standard.

I’m sharing this (with the client’s permission), because as more ‘microcements’ and ‘microtopping’ products come onto the Australian market, it’s so important that you understand the differences and advocate for the product you want and ensure that is what you get. Just because an applicator says ‘I can do microcement’ doesn’t mean that a) it’s a quality product (or the product specified) and b) that they are experienced in these kinds of applications.

I started Mineral Fox as a frustrated customer after experiencing multiple failures (where decorative finishes were applied in our bathroom) and am passionate about transparency and empowering our clients with information and support to get what they want.

Unfortunately, these challenges are likely to continue as more applicators enter this market and more products become available. So we will be sharing more information over the coming weeks and months around what you should look for in a microcement or microtopping and their differences. We are also launching our Mineral Fox Academy professional applicator training, which will create more Mineral Fox approved applicators around the country.

Until then, the key takeaway is to know that not all ‘microcements’ are of equal quality, and not all applicators are experienced enough to achieve a beautiful and durable finish and you need to ask questions and advocate for the product and applicator you want.

We’re always happy to answer questions by email or phone.

Image of a different ‘microtopping’ product that the client believed was a Mineral Fox product (Mercadier Decoration)