Trowel / troweling
Working a concrete surface with a steel blade to densify and smooth it. Troweling produces the hard, closed, glossy surface expected on interior floors.
What does trowel / troweling mean?
Each successive troweling pass tightens the surface further, and interior floors may receive several. The steel blade compacts the paste at the top, which improves abrasion resistance but also makes the surface slick when wet. Troweling air-entrained concrete seals the surface over air that then collects beneath it, causing blistering and delamination.
In practice
Interior garage and warehouse floors get troweled; exterior flatwork in freezing climates should not.