Hi all,

I did vct floors for many years at my old school job, there it was sweep, strip, maybe seal (if the school purchased it) and then 3 to 4 coats of wax.

We didn't worry to much about it because by Oct the floors were back to looking like crap anyway.

Any how, my question is now that I have my own janitorial service, I want to know the correct way to do vct so the customer is happy with paying me.

Now mind you I have a 17" rotory floor machine, I do not have a high speed burnisher and I don't really want to have to buy one.

So how can I get great looking floors with just my 17" rotory?

Thanks

"So how can I get great looking floors with just my 17" rotory? "

Short answer... you can't.



Floor care hasn't changed all that much since when you did it years ago. You still strip the floor and apply 4 or 5 coats of a quality floor finish, and then the maintenance program begins.

The maintenance program is pretty straightforward. You dust mop, clean the floor (possibly with a scrubber), wet-vac, rinse, apply fresh finish where it's needed only, and lastly you'll burnish the floor with a high speed buffer.

So at the very least, you WILL need to get an electric high speed buffer. Without it, you're just killing yourself, and the results will be sub-par by today's standards. With a high speed buffer (propane or even electric), you can produce the kind of results that your customers will be happy to pay for, and you will be happy to sign your name to as a competent businessman.

As a side mention, we sell Pioneer Eclipse floor finishes, detergents and stripper - which are the absolute BEST in the industry. In fact, that's why we sell them.

If you need advice give me a call or shoot me an email. I've serviced more VCT in my day than I care to remember







Rick Gelinas

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But I have to agree with you on this one

Sure, you can do a good job with a slow speed 17" rotary.

By two decades ago standards.

But these high speed & ultra high speed polishers that are available today, combined with the correct sealer/finish/polish really pop that shine and give that "wet look" appearance that many can only dream about.

I'm also from the old school where we used the slow speed (175 rpm), to strip with, then use the next fastest, a 330rpm for burnishing or polishing.

They were the "good old days" ??

Today, we tend to work smarter and not harder, hence the high speed machines that make it easy for us old farmers to produce great work instead of digging ourselves into an early plot.

It may be hard, but bite the bullet, buy the high speed machine and outshine your competitors.

An added bonus is that burnishing/polishing the floor is so much quicker as well.

Shorty, a very happy carpet & upholstery cleaner that now only strips for special occasions, (floors that is).

I should have been more direct with the question.

How do you get good looking floors for a customer that is a one time job.

This would be something like a pizza shop that the floor is just dirty and they want a one time scrub and wax for say $150.00

No maintaince plan, just a one time deal and then maybe they call you back in a year to do it again.

I should of said how would you go about cleaning the floor the best way to make it look good.

Sorry.

with the different terminology between the 'states and Oz, words can mean different things, but I'll give it a go.

I would do a simple scrub and burnish.

Scrub the floor with the polisher, mop-up or wet vac; dry to remove the slurry (slops), then burnish with a red pad.

This will improve the shine, if you are going to put a polish (wax??) down, I would still burnish with the red pad BEFORE putting down the wax/polish.

Reason??

By burnishing the clean floor, the friction will help seal any open pores in the vinyl and will give a better shine as well as using less wax/polish.

Hope this helps.

With a 17" rotary, if the finish is down to the tile (most likely because restaurants are known to be cheap) strip it completely. I use HTC Twister diamond pads. After it is stripped, if the floor has slight scrapes and marks, a yellow Twister will moderately resurface the tile. Follow it with 3-4 coats of wax.

In this scenario - you're back to the days when you were servicing schools - all you'll need is a Strip & Recoat.

1. Dust mop

2. Apply stripper solution and allow 10 minutes of dwell time. Avoid letting the stripper dry up before you scrub it.

3. Scrub the floor with the Cimex using Lightning strip pads (they're incredibly aggressive and won't load up with finish).https://www.excellent-supply.com/Lightning-Black-Floor-Stripping-Pads-8-inch-Case-of-15-for-19-inch-Cimex-Machines_p_213.html You can apply more plain water as your scrubbing with the Cimex to keep the floor wet.

4. Wet-vac, and rinse the floor with clean water.

5. Apply 3-5 coats of a 20 - 22% solids floor finish.

That'a all there is to it for "basic" floor care. Hope this helps.







Rick Gelinas

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Thanks guys and I would never use a Cimex to strip a floor, that's blasphemy. LOL

Joe,
I have to agree with Rick the lightning strip pads are great they eat up even the worst floor.

You and I have spoke on the phone and we're close in distance... if you want (3) 19" you can have to try or just order them from Rick.
Let me know
Tad

Thanks, maybe I will take you up on that.