i was wondering if anybody here ever done vct stripping with there cimex? i was thinking about cutting out some 8" circles of the green floor pads and giving it a whirl .but i am wondering what chem to use stripper? or maybe some rinse free ego type stripper ? i really just wanna give like a clean shiny look without going into a serious strip and ax type thing i dont wanna be throwing down 3 coats of wax and waiting 3 hours in between coats any experts here?? jot down your thaughts here or email me extremelyclean@optonline.net please

I have stripped more VCT than I care to remember!

The Cimex is a stripping monster. Its planetary action kicks butt for floor stripping - just like it kicks butt scrubbing carpet, grinding marble, or cleaning any other surface.

We sell stripping pads for the Cimex. They're called lightning strip pads. And they strip like LIGHTNING! The Cimex with the Lightning pads make a mean force to be reckoned with. Floors are stripped fast and not a shred of finish gets left behind.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Rick has really helped me in this area. I did not want to get into this part of the business, but their are several of my customers who wanted total floor care. so here I am striping and waxing.

I bought the lightening pads and they work great. as far as short cuts for applying finish I set up my jobs at the same time I clean the carpets. So I put down a layer of finish and then clean some carpet. Their is no waiting around for the finish to dry.


Ralph

It'd probably work great, but have you seen what machines that we use for stripping look like? I'll keep mine looking nice for carpet, and use the old swing machines on vct. I've used the cimex for scrub and recoats, works good. For what a cimex costs, you can pick up a nice used auto scrubber for your vct work.

Brian

you might want to check with your lib insurance carrier as stripping floors will raise your rates due to the added risk of slip and fall.

i've used my cimex to strip floors and it does a great job. i would NOT put the stripper in the cimex as stripper needs 10 mins min to break the finish.

my two favorite strippers are Endura strip by Spartan Chemical and Juggernaut by Buckeye Int'l.

go to a welding shop and have them make you an 8" dye to cut your own pads, saves ya a few $$$$ that way.


DAnny

Used Cimex several times for VCT including stripping.

Use mainly NCL products. Bare Bones stripper and Impressions.

George Barnett
Owner: G & G Services
HydroTech Distributor
http://www.webnow.com/HydroTech

I would also keep my Cimex exclusively for carpeting and get a used swing buffer to strip with. With most of the stripping chemicals available today, you don't need to machine scrub. Most will emulsify the wax by agitating with the mop along with appropriate dwell time. I will do small strip & wax jobs for carpet customers but I avoid large jobs due to the intense amount of labor involved, it is difficult to make a profit.

the only way to NOT make any money in hard floors is to NOT charge enough.

figure how many hours it will take and charge your rate. figuring by the sq ft will cost you money!!!

From the original post, I suspect you may be thinking more along the lines of scrub and recoat. This process removes the top layer or two of finish, but does not get down to bare tile as stripping should. The products used are milder. The pads less abrasive.
After scrubbing, you apply one or possibly two coats of finish.

I'd bet that Rick has just the right pad for this.

Easier than stripping. Can make a floor look just as good as a complete strip and finish in many cases. Scrub and recoat is also easier on your machine. But, you will still need to clean it throoughly after using it on VCT to keep it looking good for carpet jobs.



Scott Warrington
Tech support Bridgepoint & Interlink Supply

Scott, a top scrub is good for floors that are well maintained, both mopped and swept properly. a top scrubbed and recoated floor over improperly maintained floors is almost a sure way to loose an account.

The cimex is a good use for floor stripping, but an auto scrubber is almost needed for top scrubbing.

Ihave stripped and scrubbed VCT using both the Cimex & auto scrubbers. The thing with auto scrubbers is depending on the PAD PRESSURE you may or may not get a good strip. At least wilth a 19" Cimex you know that you are getting good pad pressure. My 20" Minuteman has 95lbs of pad pressure. The same size Nobles has 50lbs. The Cimex has 135lbs? Which will scrub better? Another factor is, how much finish is on the floor. If there are many coats of finish, no stripper will emulsify without scrubbing. Another comment was about keeping the Cimex clean. The way the machine works limits how much stripper etc. soils its, and, if you hose it off right after the strip the machine stays clean. We are in the middle of doing 34,000 s/f in a new 16 plex movie theater and using two Cimexes (?). At one point I had my 14 y/o daughter & her 11 year old friend run the machines while us big people did the surrounding work. NO PROB.

As for hourly or s/f pricing. There was no way to estimate the hours. It was priced @ .30 per s/f before the chairs were installed and .50 if the chairs were installed first. They installed the chairs first. A lot of labor and detail work, but, I can live with $17,000.

Hey Mark do you need any help????



Ralph

That's an understatement.

a movie theater putting in VCT? not very bright people out your way are there??

From someone who has stripped more then his fair share of floors, and from reading what you guys have typed...I would suggest just staying away from VCT work, on more then 1 level you are looking into BIG problems...why not just sub it out to a floor guy, and talk him into giving you work for carpets...

Seriously Blanas just swishing around a mop to take finish off???...I dont care how good your stuff is, that aint going to happen...

Like the others said go get a swing machine, or hey better yet buy a 2nd cimex for just Hard Floors..

Ok I will go hide now