A bank that I did some CC for asked me to do their vct tile...only thing is that I never stripped & waxed vct...Is it hard to do? what are the steps and materials I need? I have the cimex, which pads do I use for this...

Thanks

Joe

It's pretty easy, but can be messy on a strip and re-coat. Does it need to be completely stripped and recoated or would a scrub and recoat suffice? If the finish is not turning yellow then it doesn't need to be stripped. A lot of facilities strip too often. I know of places where it's done every 10 years and the floors look VERY GOOD. Maintenance is key.

I do scrub and re-coats and try to stay away from stripping (messy on your equipment). I also stay away from very large facilities, not worth it unless you have the equipment and manpower. I have a dual speed rotary, although the Cimex would work great if you can get the right pads. I use a red or blue pad depending how severe the scuffing is. I use Ultra Chem Labs Cleaner and Conditioner (there's lots of good cleaners you can use. I extract the dirty water with a portable with a squeegy tool on it. Rinse it and when dry put on two coats (sometimes more if necessary) of high gloss finish (I use Ultra Chem Labs floor finish). Buff with a white pad (high speed) between coats for ultimate shine. Make sure you put the coats on thin, your mop should have no dripping, thinner is better and you can always add an extra coat if required.

Looks awesome evry time.

1.dust mop
2.apply stripper
3.scrub black pad 175 or stripping pads for mex, edge using doodle bug
4.let dwell
5.extract (found using large foam squegee to move slurry to wet vac works great.
6. rinse
7. detail with razors or re-strip the bad spots.
8. dry floor
9.apply finish, personally I like flat microfiber mops. they say rule of thumb you want 100% solids on floor so 21% finish 5 coats, 25% = 4 coats

Equipment:
stripper, finish,neutral cleaner, stripper mop bucket and mop, rinse mop bucket and mop, stripping pads, doodle bug, razors, squegee, wet vac, finish mop bucket and mop or flat mop and pour finish on floor in "S" patern and spread, air movers.
Good luck hope this helps
Dave

Run! Run like the wind. VCT sucks. I know this is just my opinion but I hate that stuff. The complete strip, flood rinse, application of finish and waiting for each coat to dry is not my idea of a good time. Messy, messy, messy. Give me a carpet to clean any day. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with Joe but they also come at the rite time or help close the deal for those looking for complete floor care.
Dave

VCT is a necessary evil, if you're planning to be a commercial carpet/floor care specialist. The problem is that --- if you choose to pass on the floor care, they may find a floor guy who will want to grab the carpet cleaning. Floor striping not fun and it's not as profitable as carpet cleaning, but it can be done using a Cimex and the aggressive Lightning strip pads.

1) Dust mop
2) Apply plenty of stripper solution to the floor
3) Attach Lightning strip pads to the bottom of the Cimex
4) Fill the Cimex with plain water
5) Scrub the floor making plenty of passes
6) As you scrub the floor apply extra water to the floor
7) Detail the edges with a scraper to remove build-up
8) Wet-vac the floor (make sure it doesn't dry before you wet-vac)
9) Rinse the floor with clean water and a clean mop
10) Apply at least 4 coats of a good quality finish

Doing it right is a skill that takes time to master. Your first job or two or ten will likely be a real pain in the butt. But once you get some experience under your belt it will start to get easier. Floor stripping is not for wimps :O) I wish you success if you decide to move forward with it.

BTW Maintaining the floor is easier and more profitable.







Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

I sub those out to floor guys. Some one i came trust of course, that will do quality even though i'm not looking.

Thanks
Your Servant Alex

A sign of the times!

VCT is a PITA, but it will help put some $$ in your pocket in slow times. Imagine, a facility has 2-3 K SF of carpet and 5K sf of VCT. We charge 3 to 4 times as much for VCT as for carpet, so on one facility you can more than triple your profits.

Hire some help, and don't lowball the price, it's just not worth it. BTW, I'm not an old hand at VCT, we have only been doing them for about a year. I was scared to death the first VCT job we did and for good reason. It was an old floor, we left it wet for too long and it came unglued! What a disaster!! Now we do them regularly and are told we do a better job than anyone else.

Definitely watch your costs when doing VCT. Incidentals like pads, chemicals, mops, heads, mop buckets, finish heads, etc. can really add up if you don't already own these.

Be sure to do a good pre-inspection, don't allow your floor to stay wet for too long. Watch splashing on baseboards, etc. Be careful not to get any stripper on carpets.

IF you want to to Commercial Work doing VCT/ being able to offer it to the client is a must. It matters not If your company personally does it or you hire a trusted Co to do the work for you. Many times if you do not offer multi types of floor work you will not be able to do some of the more posh type of buildings.


If you do not know what you are doing then I would at least the first few times hire a Co you can trust and help them or at the very least watch what they do

David

One other thing...you should always have two people doing a strip job.

I agree that as a commercial floor care professional, we should offer vct work to our customers...just like we should offer stone floor care, hardwood, concrete, etc., etc...

Most older buildings are carpet and vct, however a lot of the newer facilities around here can be a combination of many different floor coverings. It adds a lot of value to your business to be able to offer floor care services for all the floor surfaces in a building.