Lithium Silicate (LS)45 is an aqueous polysilicate solution with a molar ratio of 4.5 (ranging 4.35-5.0) that has a high concentration of lithium. The reactive silicate forms a stable, high ratio, low viscosity solution that results in lower levels of water in coatings and can dramatically improve film formation, water resistance, abrasion, hardness and bonding properties for many applications, including concrete surface treatments, gloss and wear resistant coating, specialty paints, coatings and stains. Additionally, lithium silicate is added to sodium and / or potassium silicates as a blend to improve the adhesion to a wide variety of substrates as well substantially increases the hardness of colloidal based chemistries, when formulated into finishing and curing treatments.