Keeping ahead of the game in floor polishing technology is
not easy, if only because the challenges vary as quickly as
solutions are found. Here,Ricky Smith, UK field sales
manager for Truvox, explains some of the current
techniques and technologies

Flooring materials and flooring
technologies in commercial buildings
have been changing fast. The
environmental pressure to stop using
hardwoods from endangered forest habitats
has grown rapidly* and any suggestions of
new hardwood floors are likely to cause
negative publicity. Fashion has decreed more,
larger and ever-glossier stone floors in vast
office building atria. Polished concrete and
polished tile are growing in popularity.

Each kind of surface needs different
treatment, different materials and different
polishing techniques to preserve and
improve the floor and protect the owner’s
investment. In some cases the equipment
needed differs for a variety of materials.

For a start, understand how many
different jobs can be tackled with a good
quality rotary burnisher or polisher. You can
use a rotary for scrubbing any water-resistant
hard floor, such as concrete, tile, stone or
slate. You can use it to strip existing polish
off a surface, for spray cleaning and buffing
or for producing a quick shine with polish. If
your machine delivers sufficient speed, you
can use rotary for imparting a high gloss to
any smooth surface that should be glossy, be
it marble, terrazzo or oak parquet.

The snag is, that, unless your rotary
machine has a range of speed options, you
are not going to be able to tackle all those
jobs with the same machine, or with the
same pad or pads.

Selecting pads
All the different tasks that a rotary burnisher
can in theory be used for should be carried
out with the correct colour-coded pad for
the task, and at the correct rotational speed.

Use the wrong combination of pad and
speed and you will not get the results your
customer wants, and in some instances you
could actually damage the surface. To get it
right in the UK, you need to use the colourcoded
pads at specified speeds (see table
below). However, some other countries have
different pad colour codes, so buying a cheap
batch of pads on the internet may not always
be a good idea.

Floor maintenance tasks
The frequency with which the tasks listed are
carried out depends on the type of floor, the
traffic across the floor, and how much dirt is
trodden in.

Scrubbing: The various kinds of safety floors
often used in schools and supermarkets
require regular scrubbing with a mild
detergent or polish-stripping agent.

Detergents rarely damage an emulsion floor
polish on the surface, but do remove the dirt.

Using a polish stripper will remove the dirt
and the residue of old polish, so that the floor
is very clean, but needs repolishing. The
floor will need neutralising with an acid rinse
before new polish is applied.

Spray stripping: A useful quick means of
restoring a floor’s shine when there is no time
for a full strip and repolish. Using a blue pad
and diluted speed stripper (check the
manufacturer’s instructions) spray the floor
lightly then buff it over. This removes the top
layer of polish, leaving the rest in place.

Keying, sealing and polishing wood floors:
Emulsion polish prevents wear to the sealant
applied when the floor was laid. When the
polish has been stripped, check the sealant.

If the surface is not chipped or worn, simply
apply more polish. Resealing when it is
unnecessary is bad practice.

If the sealant has to be stripped, key the
timber with a 100 grit wire mesh pad on the
rotary to give the new sealant a key to adhere
to. Between coats, use a red pad on the dried
sealant before the next coat. Remember that
using wire mesh pads to key a floor is not a
substitute for sanding.

There is a great deal that can be achieved
with rotary machines if you use the right
pads and the right techniques.

* ww.sandedfloors.co.uk/
Environmental%20issues.htm