Hello I have a construction company who wants me to put a bid in. They want me to put a bid on 3,515 sqft of vinyl commercial tile new.
They need my process to:
I'm going to scrub with 175 rotary using red pad to clean factory finish off.
Then I apply finish.
How would you write this to be more professional and how much would charge. What would be the lowest I would go?
A red pad won't remove the factory seal. The new tile needs to have a light stripping to open up the floor so that it will accept and bond well with the floor finish. If you fail to remove the factory seal, the new finish will not properly adhere to the floor and it will scratch off pretty easily.
Use a rinse free stripper, and a stripping pad on your 175 rpm machine. Wet vacuum and rinse the floor. Then apply 4 - 6 coats of finish (most floors can suffice with 4 coats of a good quality floor finish). I would suggest charging between .15 - .20 per sq ft. Even at .20 per sq ft it won't be as profitable as carpet cleaning, but sometimes floor care leads to, or is attached to carpet cleaning revenue, and that helps to makes it worth it.
agree totally. Red pads will not work.
Dion, if I may ask, how much experience do you have in the cleaning industry and in what areas are you proficient??
As the other previous posters have said, a red pad will not cut it, so to speak.
When someone knows a bit about a persons capabilities, then one can make a more informed answer.
A red pad, (in my day), was used for spray burnishing a vinyl floor to restore the shine, whereas a black pad was used for stripping any previous sealer/finish prior to applying new sealer/finish.
It's a bit like running a lambswool buffer over a car to remove the paint, when in fact you really need sandpaper.
Short 1
To remove the factory finish on new VCT, I've only ever used degreaser mixed hot, and a black pad under my swing machine. Neutral rinse, microfiber, and apply your finish. I've never used a stripper. So far never a problem.
And us a quality wax. High solids or low don't matter. Yes a high solids will give you a nice shine, but if the wax is a junk janitorial house brand, it's going to make you look bad in the long run.
Further to what the others have said, back in my day, (early '70's - early '80's), down under, we didn't have any fancy rinse solutions, we would just add a cup of white vinegar to a bucket of water and rinse.
The Acetic Acid would neutralise any remaining detergent residue.
Then, when dry and before applying the top coat, we would buff with our 175 using a red pad.
The friction of the red pad would achieve several things.
This would seal the open pores in the vinyl, give you a deeper shine, and because the pores were sealed, you would use less top coat.
Remember also, after the first top coat which goes to the wall, keep all other coats a mop distance away to prevent build-up around the perimeter.
Hope this helps.
Short 1
(04-05-2014, 11:52 PM)Shorty Wrote: [ -> ]Then, when dry and before applying the top coat, we would buff with our 175 using a red pad.
The friction of the red pad would achieve several things.
This would seal the open pores in the vinyl, give you a deeper shine, and because the pores were sealed, you would use less top coat.
Short 1
I definitely want to try this. I've seen you and Rick both mention it in past posts. There's so little profit in VCT work, that I hate to add another step. But, I want to see how it looks after using this procedure.
Remember Nike, "Just do it".
You "hate to add another step", but in the long run, it will save you time and also give you a better finish on the floor.
Short 1
JJTMellon said.."Yes a high solids will give you a nice shine, but if the wax is a junk janitorial house brand, it's going to make you look bad in the long run."...
Or if it's a huge national brand that sells mostly to very large dept. store chains with in-house cleaning that are trained/instructed by corporate goons with deep pockets to strip and wax often because it wears so poorly. Experienced and wise floor pros buy and use what actually works, not just shop by the label.
What I should have said is don't buy just for cheap price. You want quality.
Many janitorial services starting out(now I don't know if that's you) by cheap.
I know years ago, I did it that way and it hurt me. Buy quality supplies is what I was trying to say.
Floorcaremd, did I say something wrong?
Nope. Not at all..
Just agreeing with your thoughts.
Yes, lots of people just starting out in the biz go cheap first or they go to the supply shop believing that if they buy a Big Brand name it will make them look professional right "out of the bucket" {or bag in the box
}.
We too made that mistake many many years ago with a large brand name that once had a great reputation for being the best for UHS. Then they sold it to someone and it went to crap...buffer booger swirlies, difficult to strip off, uneven shine when buffing long aisles etc etc..
It's like when a young man orders his first beer and orders a Bud...
Probably because of all the expensive advertising etc.. then later, lousy after-taste, disappointment, headaches.
This is why I do very little floor care anymore. To me it was never worth the work or I should say the money I was paid for doing the work.
Man, you are thinking with my brain...
Vct work was once all we looked for and knew. Now that I am getting older, wiser and did I mention older, it is not what it used to be. Prices in my area are about the same as they were back in the 90's and it sure is a thankless job. We do miracles on some of these grocery store floors and never get a thank you. But now that we have been also doing carpets and concrete floors for the past 10 years, it's a new ballgame. Much better $ per sq. ft. and you get treated a lot better by customers PLUS it is soooo much easier and way less expenses.
I too have done a lot of VCT in my day. I really don't wish to do much more!