Will surface scuffs be a long-term issue in a new concrete walkway?

Question

I'm probably being paranoid but would like to get some expert opinions as this is my first time dealing with concrete.
I had a concrete path laid in the garden, around 80-100mm thick.
It was laid and then about 12 hours later when it had hardened the top layer got scratched by machinery in a few patches roughly the size of a beer mat each, taking the top 2-3mm off the surface. It was then it started to rain for a few hours.
So now when I look at the surface I have the nice cured layer top layer, but in the scratched patches it's a bit rougher looking and the material feels a bit looser.
My question is, will these scratched areas develop into a problem as the material feels a bit looser on them compared to the cured surface ?
Is there any product I could apply to them to re-seal them, one that is preferable invisible to not draw attention ?
Or am I just overthinking the whole thing, and is this part of the natural wear and tear ?
This is just a functional side path, nothing pretty about the finish.
Thanks in advance

Ecnerwal · Answer

Well the folks who "scratched" your delicate "green" (fresh, uncured, weak) concrete with their machinery should be fixing this for you, or paying your concrete guy to fix it if they are not the concrete guy.
It won't get better, and it's hard to do much (short of tear out and repour a section) to fix a thin layer like that, because thin layers do not bond well and tend to spall off again.
There's a section of sidewalk near me that looks horrible because it was not covered (or the cover was not secured properly and blew off in a thunderstorm) while still wet and got poured on, taking the finish layer off. Rain is good once the concrete has set/hardened (the cure needs water) but bad when the material is still wet - not your issue, as the parts that were not abused seem to be fine per your description - you just have damage because the green (and very weak at that point in time) concrete was "scratched by machinery" before it could become strong.

Will surface scuffs be a long-term issue in a new concrete walkway?

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