Enhance concrete countertop

Hello everyone.

I hope I am in the right category here.

I have a question. Or actually 2....
I am currently building an outdoor kitchen. For this, I poured a concrete slab, then laid masonry blocks and finally made a countertop. For the countertop, I first built the formwork, lined it with foil, put in reinforcement, and poured ready-mixed concrete. I tamped the concrete as well as I could, which was more or less successful. After a week, I removed the formwork and put foil over it because of the rain. You can see the result in the picture. That was almost 2 weeks ago now.
My questions:
1. I would like to somehow cover the slab, paint it or do something to make the surface look nice. With tiles, I see the problem that they might chip off in winter. Would it be possible, for example, to seal the slab with concrete filler or something similar and then put concrete paint on top? Or would there be cracks sooner or later? If that is possible, how long do I have to wait with the filler until I apply it? Do I also have to apply filler and paint on the underside? What about primer or something like that? Which concrete filler? Paint after filler? With what and when, etc.?

2. In some places (mainly on the surface), the concrete is kind of porous. Probably not tamped properly. In case of using concrete filler, could I just fill it in and will it hold? Or do I have to do something in between or use bonding agents etc.?

3. In the picture, you can hopefully see next to the sink on the front edge where the concrete chipped off during formwork removal. Is there something for repairing this?

I have already been to various hardware stores and somehow everyone tells me something different so I don’t know who to believe. Actually, I wanted to finish the kitchen once and then have peace for years. Repainting once is okay, but not constantly repairing cracks or anything like that. And the cost should stay reasonable, otherwise I would have bought a marble slab.
So I thought I’d ask experts who know what they’re talking about.

I really hope you can support me a bit with this project.

Many, many thanks in advance
Best regards

The board can of course be worked with common cement-based fillers. I think I wouldn’t do it, because I like the somewhat rustic character of the countertop.

However, when I look at the thickness of the board, considering that the board is fully wetted and also dries again, the concrete cover (cnom) is certainly too low. Your reinforcement will rust, the concrete will spall.

Therefore, look around for a carbonation inhibitor that prevents the process of reinforcement corrosion. Otherwise, you won’t enjoy the board for long.

Regards

Hmm, I imagined that more positively.

Never heard of carbonation retarders. Is there another word for it or a product name? I can't find any material under this term. Only a definition, and everywhere it says 50m thick. I think it should mean mm. But even that seems like a lot to me.

I got the concrete from Raab Karcher. They told me it wouldn't be a problem for outdoor use. The main thing is that the slab is 7-9 cm thick. I now have 8 cm thickness.

Would this carbonation retarder also work, and then concrete filler and then concrete paint? So that it holds. Would sealing slurry also be an option to keep the slab dry so nothing flakes off in winter?

Thanks

This concrete paint is often used as a carbonation barrier, the main thing is that it is very dense. Pay attention to an sd-value above 1m.

50m thick

The carbonation barrier should be designed so that its diffusion-equivalent air layer thickness is at least 50 m. The sd-value usually describes the water vapor diffusion-equivalent air layer thickness. In the case of the carbonation barrier, it is about CO2, not water. To what extent these values are therefore comparable (50 vs. 1), I cannot say.

I am currently building an outdoor kitchen.

Nice project, by the way! I hope you find a solution that lasts in the long term!

ah I see. This carbonation barrier is a property of a material and not the material itself, ok. Do you have a concrete color recommendation? Haven't found the right one yet. Either this sd value is below 1 or it is not specified. Is there something that can be recommended?

Regards