Building Durable and Iconic Floors at MTSU
When you’re working in higher-education environments, performance matters. But in a flagship academic building, appearance and identity matter just as much.
That was the case for Perfect Polish at Middle Tennessee State University inside the new Applied Engineering Building — a state-of-the-art, three-story, nearly 90,000-square-foot facility designed to support hands-on engineering education, advanced labs, and collaborative learning.
From the beginning, this project wasn’t just about installing a durable floor system. It was about delivering a finish that represented MTSU correctly — right down to the color.
Collaboration to Get It Right
Some colors are just iconic.
UT orange, Ferrari red, and MTSU blue.
When institutional branding is involved, “close” isn’t good enough.
Perfect Polish worked closely with the client and the general contractor, going back and forth through samples and adjustments to dial in the exact shade needed to represent MTSU properly. Achieving the right tone required coordination, communication, and a willingness to refine the system until everyone was confident it matched the university’s identity.
That collaboration made sure that the final floor wasn’t just durable — it was true to the brand.
Starting with the Right Foundation
Before color ever came into play, the process started with proper surface preparation. Perfect Polish came in first to prepare the original concrete slab — a critical step in long-term performance.
Crews filled the joints and grounded the surface using metal-bond diamond tooling to open the slab and create the correct profile for adhesion. Once cleaned and properly prepared, the team installed a urethane mortar cement layer designed to provide a tough, resilient base capable of handling heavy institutional traffic.
After the urethane layer cured, a pigmented epoxy coating was applied, delivering a seamless, high-gloss finish in the carefully matched MTSU blue.
Built for Institutional Performance
University facilities demand flooring systems that can withstand constant use from students, faculty, equipment, and daily activity. But in prominent spaces like this, the floor also becomes part of the building’s visual identity.
By working collaboratively with the client and GC — and by handling everything from surface prep to final coating — Perfect Polish delivered a floor system that checks every box:
A Trusted Partner for Complex Projects
Institutional projects require more than technical expertise. They require communication, flexibility, and attention to detail.
This MTSU project highlights Perfect Polish’s ability to manage complex flooring systems while collaborating closely with project stakeholders to get every detail — including color — exactly right.
