How Professional Services Refinish a Floor
Today we are going over the floor refinishing process for commercial buildings and homeowners. This specific article is dedicated to wax able vinyl flooring or commercial vct surfaces.
Finishes can be looked at in two ways, first by solid content. Higher solids content means that the product may be slightly thicker and perhaps not as easy to spread evenly. More importantly, higher solids content means that each layer of finish will be thicker. Most commercial finishes range from a solids content of 15% to 35%.
Finishes may also be differentiated by the hardness of the finish once dry. Generally speaking, softer finishes have a higher gloss with some light polishing. The downside is soft finishes wear off faster.
Hard finishes may need a higher speed machine for polishing or more time to get to a desired gloss level. However, they will maintain that shine longer because they do not wear easily.
Read our article on how businesses can keep floors looking fantastic and save money
How to Apply New Finish
New finish should only be applied to a clean floor, otherwise the finishes will trap or seal in any dirt on the floor as the finish dries.
Select a mop meant for applying finish. Usually this will be polyester or a polyester cotton blend, you can find them at any janitorial supply store or home depot.
Temperature of the floor should be at least 55 degrees or higher when finish is applied. This is seldom an issue but should be checked when working in empty spaces without heat or cooler.
- Move any items that need to be moved.
- Place warning signs as required. Traffic should be kept off the floor until the finish has completely dried.
- Dust mop floor.
- Damp mop floor with a diluted neutral cleaner to rinse away soils. Dilute according to label directions for maintenance floor mopping. If there are indications of any oil or grease, this must be cleaned away before proceeding.
- Use cool water to dampen the mop you will use to apply the finish. Wring the mop out. This helps prevent the mop from absorbing a lot of the finish that is intended to be applied to the floor.
- Pour out a narrow line of finish across a section of the floor. Use the mop to begin spreading across the floor. Remember, it is not necessary to go all the way to the edge. Keep more of the finish near the center of the traffic lanes and gradually feather out the level of finish as you get closer to the edge. Bubbles may indicate that the finish is being applied too heavily. Lines from the mop strands indicate you need a little more finish.
- Only after the floor is completely dry can an additional coat be applied if desired. Depending upon temperature, humidity and other factors, drying time may range be anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 or 3 hours.
