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Post by finally on Oct 17, 2008 7:54:39 GMT -5
The company I am working for FINALLY got floor STRIPPER!....Wahooo!!!
I requested off the floor crew though.
But.
My son is now on it. An here is what he is facing.
These floors that they are doing have layers an layers an layers of wax.
We have heard storys of ..."this floor has never been (stripped) my whole 20 years being here...."
You get the picture.
The guy who is now on the floor crew with my son dosen't get the idea you must use water with the stripper. An you must not LET it dry on you.
Today they had 2 trash bags of with just wax they scrapped off the floors that had to of weighed close to 30lbs a piece.
This guy believes that since the wax is so thick that straight stripper or (close to it) would be best. I went in to help them for a little while and it was a mess.... While I'm scrapping the wax up there is a gue building up behind me where I've already done...I dunno. It's a mess.
It's like trying to wash your very dirty hands with just soap an no water affect.
I've done research on Do I need to us water with the stripper.
An
Why do I need to use water with stripper when stripping floors.
All I come up with are the technicues of stripping a floor. Which that I already have told them.
He is one of those guys that believes if some is good then more is better...
But it isn't the case here with the stripper solution when you completelly take out the water.....
Any help with explanining how the stripper actually needs water in order to do the job??
Thanks!!
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Post by Kevin on Oct 17, 2008 8:46:42 GMT -5
Your absolutely right. You have to use water. Use it cold, and turn down the temp of the building to avoid any further evopartion and let the stripper do it`s magic. The straight stripper is evaporating and drying to fast and not working to remove the wax. The new chemical strippers can easily eat through 20 year old floor finish. In most cases the finish or wax they put on years ago is a residential based waxed, especialy if you have been there for 20 years and do not remember placing any commercial finishes.
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Post by logan5127 on Oct 17, 2008 9:18:07 GMT -5
I just did a job similar to this. Sometimes it is the kind of finish that requires more than just a simple strip job. Usually Urethane or urethane fortified is hard to get up. The job I just did required us to strip and scrape the entire floor 5 times and we still didn't get it all up but it was good enough.
I have tried several different types of stripper on these situations. I have tried different mix solutions. I know that the chemist know more what they are doing then I do. Some strippers will give you different ratios for the mix according to the job requirements. I know that if you do not add water the stripper is very slippery and it seems that the stripping pad cannot grab hold as it should.
A simple solution would be to lay an area with just stripper and lay an area with stripper that is mixed with the right amount of water and then test both areas to see which worked best. I would also try it with just a little stronger mix as well.
I would also recommend using some 5 gallon buckets to pick up the sludge rather than trash bags. I is much easier to carry . I would have a several different types scrappers and new blades as well. On this last job that I had trouble on , another member on here came to watch how we stripped. She had a scrapper that you can buy at Lowe's paint dept. It had about a 4 to 5 inch blade and about a foot long handle. It worked better than our hand scrapper on the first few coats being stirpped but then the hand scrapper worked better after that. I would also recommend having several pads on hand. Once the pad gets gummed up it will not grip the finish on the floor but instead will just glide over it. Kevin also gave some great advice about the evaporation factor.
On the reasons for adding water, I am not a chemist. Why do you have to add water to antifreeze that goes in a car? Why do you have to add water to any type of cleaner? MOstly because they are shipped in concentrated form. If stripper came ready to use it would cost way to much for shipping. If you added more water to floor finish it would cover more area but would not have the same quality result.
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Post by Grizzly on Oct 17, 2008 10:43:08 GMT -5
The stripper is chemically made so that certain chemicals in it are only activated with the addition of water. These agents help to emulsify the polymers after the zinc metal interlock is broken down. If this floor is that old, it probably has no metal interlock in the finish and is just long chain polymers. It is now more important to add the appropriate amount of water. The highest dilution ratio i have ever used on any floor has been 1:4 or in other words 32oz. of concentrated stripper to 1 gal of water. Given that you purchase a good stripper , this should take up anything. As well, is you let an area dry, at least with contemporary finishes, the metal interlock has been dissolved and what dries are the polymers that make up the rest of the finish. You are then faced with trying to strip out the long chain polymers that are left and are much more difficult to get to release and emulsify in water. More is not always better. ??  Bill |
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Post by finally on Oct 17, 2008 16:34:51 GMT -5
This is great! I knew I could count on you guys!!!!....  Any other advice is welcomed.... An the "slippery" point. Is a excellent point. That is one of the problems. This guy complained that using the scrubber wasn't doing any good. That they were going through a lot of pads an it wasn't doing any good. It didn't dawn on me that it was too slippery so the pad couldn't grab onto the wax. Excellent point! An stripping a job several times was a point I've been trying to get them to understand... An the buckets!.....We have them. I don't know why they didn't think to use them.......I'll pass that on too! THANKS AGAIN! |
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Post by logan5127 on Oct 17, 2008 21:23:47 GMT -5
Another thing that stripper will do if it is the right type of finish, is that it dissolves the wax. If it is a urethane type finish you will notice that it does not dissolve. It only softens up. That is why you end up will a big pile of sludge and a gummed up pad. Hand scrapping is the only way I have found to remove these type finishes. Perhaps someone else has found a better method. I have tried several types of strippers. I have had salesman say that it will take it right off. Never believe every thing you are told.
The process we use , is lay down the stripper and let set for a few minutes , then hand scrape it all, then re wet the floor and scrub. Squeegee it all up and repeat the process again until it is at satisfactory levels. Check pad frequently. No need to rinse in between each strip and no need to get all the stripper off the floor between each process. Also try to do small managable sections at a time. It doesnt hurt to lay a section ahead of you and let it soak while you are working on your first section. Good luck. Dan
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Post by arthalamuel005 on Oct 24, 2008 14:38:03 GMT -5
You have to dilute the stripper with water or you will never accomplish anything. I hae used Betco products for years and had a guy put straight stripper on the floor it was a gooy mess and very sticky. In order for the stripper to work correctly mix 1 part stripper to 4 or 5 parts water for ideal stripping
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Post by salamander on Oct 28, 2008 12:44:27 GMT -5
I have seen Dan and his crew in action the experience was priceless i learned so much from them. I have to say Dan knows what he is talking about i saw him take a nightmare job and make it a lot less of a nightmare, and the way he treats his crew is great these people really like working with him they laugh and cutup and it makes it fun to be there. Dan and his crew made me feel like i was part of the crew, this was an experience i will never forget.
Thank you so much Dan
P.S. I have to get me some of those shoes.
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Post by logan5127 on Oct 30, 2008 11:39:49 GMT -5
I have seen Dan and his crew in action the experience was priceless i learned so much from them. I have to say Dan knows what he is talking about i saw him take a nightmare job and make it a lot less of a nightmare, and the way he treats his crew is great these people really like working with him they laugh and cutup and it makes it fun to be there. Dan and his crew made me feel like i was part of the crew, this was an experience i will never forget. Thank you so much Dan P.S. I have to get me some of those shoes. Thank you for the nice comments. I just wanted to say that (salamander) was a joy to work with. She also was not only eager to learn but shared her knowledge as well. We all can learn much from each other if we have open mind and open ears. By ourselves we may know a little or a lot , but together as a group with lots of knowledge, (IJCSA) we can learn a whole lot more than we ever dreamed of. |
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