Floor Stripping and Finishing Guide.

[logan5127]

To start with some simple definitions.

1. Stripping Machine- called by several different names.
Swing machine, side to side, low speed scrubber, conventional scrubber, stripping machine, and probably some others. These usually are 175 rpm. There are also some units that run on propane called side winders, propane strippers.

2. Splash Guard- A ring that goes around the stripping machine to keep stripper from splashing on walls, furniture or fixtures.

3. Finish Mops- These are usually Rayon Mop Heads .
There is also flat rayon heads that look similar to dust mops.

4. Doodle Bug- A tool that has handle with a flat pad holder and pad on it. they are around 5" x 10". These are used on edges and areas where stripper machine will not fit.

5. Squeegee- There are several types and sizes of squeegees. Rubber squeegees- have rubber channels and come in strait , curved, push and pull.
Foam squeegees - sometimes called water wands, have double foam channel and works well on rough and smooth surfaces.

6. Auto Scrubber- Machine that puts water down;scrubs; and vacuums up the solution. This machine is sometimes used in stripping, but the pad pressures on most of these units is very low compared to stripping machines and may not remove all of finish. they are very good to follow stripping machine to pick up solution and rinse floor.

7. Squeegee Vac- An electric or Battery powered vacuum that has a squeegee attachment mounted on it, that can be pushed over the floor to vacuum up solutions.

8.Base Board Stripper- Comes in an aerosol can and can be sprayed on baseboard that need stripped. It sprays a gel like stripper that clings to vertical surfaces.

9. Base Board Stripper Machine- This machine looks similar to a weed eater. It has a brush or pad to clean baseboards and edge's.

10. Stripping Shoes- These are vinyl shoe covers with Velcro on the bottom that a pad holds to . These will keep you from slipping on slick floors.

11. Scrapers- There are a wide variety of scrapers used by cleaning companies. Window scrapers, flat retractable scrapers, puddy knifes, scrapers with long handles, and many others.

12. Stripping Pad- These are black and come in different thickness. Some are more aggressive than others.

13. Stripping Mops- These can be cotton or cotton rayon blend. These should have different handles or be marked so that they are not mistaken for rinse mops.

14. Wax?Finish- Topical coatings made of several different ways. Acrylic, urethane fortified, plastic polymers, and many more. Years ago it was called wax because there was additives such as bees wax , carnauba wax and other wax materials. Now most are made up of synthetic polymers and took on the new name of Finish.
However it is still referred to by many as wax.

15. Faucet Adapters and hose- There is not always a water faucet to fill buckets. You can get several different adapters to fit on sink faucets that allow a water hose attachment. There are also flexible hoses that have a flexible end that will slide over faucet heads.

16. Circuit Breaker Adapter- Can be plugged into the outlet and then cord from machine can be plugged into it. This will be used as a saftey messure in case of a short and main circuit breaker didn't kick off.

17. M.S.D.S.- Material Safety Data Sheets , There should be one for each chemical you use.

[logan5127]

Strip Job Check List:

1. Stripper Concentrate and base board stripper
2. Finish and Finish Mops
3. Neutral Cleaner
4. Rinse Bucket and Wringer
5. Stripper Bucket and Wringer
6. Rinse Mops and Handles
7. Stripper Mops and Handles
8. Stripper Machine
9. Black Pads and Pad Block for Machine
10. Splash Guard
11. Wet Vac/hose and wand
12. Squeegee's
13. Doodle Bug and Pads
14. Stripping Shoes/ gloves/ goggles/respirator if needed.
15. Towels for any clean ups
16. Scrapers
17. Caution Signs
18. Heavy Duty extension cord.Never smaller guage than equipment cord.
19. Circuit breaker connection
20. Mats- small carpet with rubber back
21. 2 or 5 gallon bucket if needed to empty in
22. Drinks and Snacks.
23. First aid Kit- include eye drops;asprin; powders.
24. Large Trash Bags for finish mops.
25. Small Fans.
26. M.S.D.S. Sheets for any chemicals you are hauling.
27. Water Faucet adapters and flexible fill hose.
28. Knee boards or knee pads

[logan5127]

Process Enviro Stat uses to strip and finish floors.

1. Unload everything to central location.

2. One person fills mop buckets

3. One person gets equipment ready

4. One person sweeps floor

5. We mix our stripper One part to Four parts cold
water. We never use
hot water. Some strippers have agents that will evaporate in hot water.

6. We add a couple of ounces of neutral cleaner to rinse water.

7. When everything is ready and we have a plan as where to start and where to end,
we lay out a section with stripper solution.Making sure the whole area is throughly wet.
Then go around the edges with doodle bug to make sure nothing has been missed.

8. After it has set for about 10 minutes we re-mop it with stripper solution.

9. We doodle bug it again and then hand scrape the edges.

10. After all scraping is done , we re-spread the stripper solution again. This has allowed for
plenty of dwell time and has agitated the solution 3 times.

11. Now it is time to run the scrubber over the floor. In order to be able to stand up , scrub as you go forward.
Go up an edge about 5 feet and then over about 6 feet or to the other edge if it is in an isle,then come
back 5 feet on the other edge and then scrub the middle of that section. It is important to have some one
keeping the floor wet behind you so the solution does not dry back to the floor. Make sure floor in front
of you is wet also.Sometimes the wax will absorb the solution.

12. After running the stripper machine , it is time to squeegee off the stripper and old finish that should be
dissolved. Pull both edges and then the middle to the end of isle or section where you are working.

13. Vacuum all this solution up. While another person is mopping the stripped section with rinse mop.
While rinse mopping make sure all finish is gone and edges/corners are clean.

14. Now squeegee off the rinse water in same order. Try not to leave any lines or foot prints. You
will be amazed at how dirty the rinse water is after you squeegee it off the isle.

15. Now move to next section. If you have enough help the next section should already have been laid.

16. If any finish remains or floor does not look clean you can repeat stripping it again.

17. After you have floor all stripped and cleaned it is time to lay finish.

18. If you are using a rayon mop head , put a trash liner in the mop bucket before pouring the finish in.
Dip the mop in the finish and then raise and put in wringer. lightly squeeze till finish just drips from mop.
Drag the mop down an edge and then across to other side and down that edge a little and the fill in the
middle in a figure 8 pattern.

19. I like using the 5" X 24" flat finish mop. To use this , pour your finish directly onto and in front of the mop.
Start about 4 feet from beginning of the section to be finished. This will give you enough room to clean shoes off
before going to next section. Push the finish mop right up the middle of the isle turning it as you go. This will
allow the finish to spread out a little as you go. When you get to the end , turn it sideways and do the figure 8 as
you walk back wards. The mop will spread out any foot prints in finish from walking back wards through it. On the first
coat you may choose to stay away from edges about 4". Edges do not get much traffic and do not need as much
finish. If you are waxing a large section be sure to not overlap finish that has been applied and is starting to dry.
Just butt up against it . Any small spots or streaks can be gotten on the next coat. Finish starts drying fast and it
can be messed up easily if you go back out onto it to get a spot that was missed. Carry a trash bag with you to put finish mop in between coats. If mop is dripping put into bag as you move from one section to another. If drips on a floor dry long enough they will remain there and can be seen after the floor is done.

20. Allow floor to completely dry before applying next coat. If you use fans to help dry , wait a few minutes before turning
them on. Then set them to make air movement above the floor finish and not directly blowing on the finish.
We normally put on three coats in low traffic areas and four in high traffic area. It will also depend on the type of finish
you are applying. Most finishes are self sealing so no sealer may be required. If you do need sealer then apply it the same
way as you do the finish. The sealer will go on first.

This is just some of the basic ways we at Enviro Stat strip floors and is just here as a guide. I am sure others have different procedures. If so please list them here. thanks, Dan

[logan5127]

Oh yea, I just about forgot, bring a radio and a fun personality with you to help you get through the job.

[salamander]

Thanks this will help a lot, i have never stripped and waxed a floor before guess i'll have to one day

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[colin]

Dan...Your post explains better then the manual I had great job CHEERS!

[logan5127]

Thanks for the comment Colin and Salamander. I am not real good with words and help it was simple enough to understand. There are still a lot of details to learn in this area. Perhaps one of the other veterans in this business could add some more on this subject. I also forgot to mention to be sure your rinse water is changed regular and kept clean. I have heard in the past that a floor needs to be neutralized with some special process before finishing. I have done floors for 24 years with out ever doing this process and have never had any trouble. I believe as long as you are using the clean rinse water with a little neutral cleaner in it and squeegeeing it off good than there should be no residue left on floor to worry about. That is just my opinion that works for me.

[Kemaebe]

We just did our first floor job on acid stained concrete this weekend and it took forever! Can someone tell me how long it would take an experienced team to strip (2 times), seal (2 coats), and finish (3 coats) a floor of about 600 sqft?

It took about 1.5 hrs of prep time moving furniture and protecting fancy wood baseboards so don't even count that. I just need to know a fair time to charge but not penalize them for our newbie-ness. This is a medical facility.
Thanks in advance!
Donna

[logan5127]

Due to some recent request , I just wanted to refresh this thread. It is scarry doing your first floor. It takes a lot of time to get it all down to the perfect art work that it is. Start out with doing small jobs. Take your time. If you have never done tile floor strip and finish before than it will be hard to take that first step. Some places do all this work in house using their on employees. Perhaps someone will let you watch. At any rate I know myself, Bill, Kevin and others are only a phone call away from giving you some guidance if needed.
Please read over this entire thread. Read other threads are in this section. Research the websites. Ask questions. No matter how much you learn from all this it is still up to you to take the first step of actually doing a job.
Although most use similar steps in the process of stripping and finishing, there are several different techniques used by different companies. Figure out what works best for you.

[Linda]

Hey everyone,

I took a few before and after pics of some floors we did and we may have another floor job coming up. I think it turned out very very nice, other than the baseboards. They didnt want those done and they really needed it, but will be doing those on this next job. Was wondering if anyone here sells the splash guards and baseboard stripper machine. We scrubbed them by hand and wow was that a job. There was finish on top of grime. The corners and edges were horrid. Anyway, cant wait to get opinions on the floor job we just did. Will post pics soon.

Linda

[wendycli]

Maybe this is out of the question to ask, but can someone give me some guidelines to bid this kind of a job. Have been doing floors but not this type and would not even know where to start. The company has requested their VCT floor be stripped then maintained monthly!!! ANY advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

[logan5127]

First of all, welcome Wendycli to the IJCSA. It would be great if you could also put a post on the introductions section and tell us a little more about yourself and what services you offer.

In answer to your question, there is no specific answer. Do you know what the rates are averaging in your area? That would be a great start. Rates vary across different regions and even in the same towns. It can go from .15 sq ft to $1 a sq ft. In my area I determine price by following,
1. Amount to be stripped. We have a $300 minimum. We give some discounts on large volume.
2. What is on the floor? Is it easy to strip off or hard. There are different types of finishes used. If it is urethane or urethane fortified it is usually very hard to get up. Do a test spot to find out.
3. Do you have to move items. We always have client to move items prior to us stripping. Moving items can kill you on labor.
4. Are they going to give you a maintenace contract to buff each month.
5. Mileage to job site.
6. Layout of site. Do you have to cross over carpet? Do you have to go up steps? Do you have to do in sections which may require a return trip? Do you have a lot of fixtures to work around?
7. Do you have to strip baseboards?
8. Are there a lot of electric outlets in floor?
9. What type of service did they have before? Why are they looking for new service? Do they care about quality ?
10. What price are you paying for supplies? You can get finish from $6 a gallon or $30 a gallon. Same with strippers. You can get them cheap or the better quality for a lot higher. Your cost can vary greatly from your competitions. If you are going with the higher cost finish be sure to reflect that to the customer.
11. What is your labor cost going to be?
12. What day and time will job start? A lot of clients will want work done on Holidays, and or weekends.

So you see why no one should have a set price on stripping and finishing. Yet many do. I will say that on average with average answers to the 12 questions above , we get .40 a sq. ft. On some jobs the answers may not be average to us and we change that price per sq ft.

I have been doing floors for many years. I know what I want to make on each job. I do not let my competition determine my price. Yet if you are new to the business it is a good starting point. I know my work and I know my cost. You will learn all this in time. Stripping and finishing is some of the hardest work we do.
It also has the highest overhead of anything we do. So be careful when bidding. You will learn much on your first few strip jobs.

[melissaholland]

I have finally learned how to strip and wax floors now its time to go in to buff up the floors to make them shine what speed of a machine do i need Also what color pad And how do i do it?
thanks
Melissa Holland

[Grizzly]

This depends on whether you are going to spray buff with your low speed 175-300 rpm swing machine or you are going o burnish with a high speed machine of 1000 rpm and above. We won't go into propane burnishing. What equipment do you have on hand? Spray buffing will only slightly enhance your shine and does not harden the surface. You essentially, spray restorative in front of your low speed machine and using the swing machine and a ( I use a white 3M polishing pad) go back and forth and try and get out scratches. I believe you are considering burnishing which means you need at least a 1000 rpm burnishing machine (electric probably up to 1500 rpm and then propane) and using an acryllic blend, natural hair or combination pad burnish the floor using a pattern like you mow the lawn. The burnisher does not go in a side to side motion like the swing machine but back and forth. You will have to try the pads to find one that you like for the finish you are using the the application. I like a hogs hair blend for my burnishing of VCT. Hope this helps. As well , you can get restorative to spray when you are burnishing as well, I use perpetual shine from Z-tier products. It assists in removing surface dirt, helps lubricate the floor and fills in some of the surface scratches as well as assisting in the heating up of the top layer of finish and making the polymers get closer together.

Bill

[melissaholland]

Who do you buy from everyone I use says they don't carry hogs hair