How To Strip Floors

HOW TO STRIP A FLOOR

The purpose of stripping a floor is to remove all the old floor finish off the floor. Over time floor finish can turn yellow and can build a haze. If burnishing or polishing your floor does not correct this, it's probably time to strip your floors and do a new recoat. Stripping a floor can be a quick and clean procedure if you have the correct tools for the job. The use of a good floor stripper will make your life much easier, it's better to have the floor stripper remove the wax rather than using hard labor. Removing old floor finish is basically a three step process:

Apply the floor stripper and agitate it.
Remove the floor stripper from the floor
Rinse the floor and neutralize the floor stripper.

Procedure:

Make sure that your floor has been prepared for stripping. Clean the floor removing as much dirt and debris as possible.
After you have the floor has been prepared vacuum or dust mop the floor to remove any dust. We recommend that you spray your duct mop with dust mop treatment to remove as much dust as possible. Make sure to remove anything stuck to the floor because this will gum up or rip the floor pad.
Make sure that the floor are you are stripping does not and will not have traffic moving through it. Use warning signs to make sure the area where you are stripping is marked out so that everyone is aware of the area.
Stripping a floor requires a mop bucket, cotton or blended mop, floor machine (175-300rpm's) and a black or hi-pr stripping floor pad. Follow the manufacturers specifications for applying the floor stripper. Fill the mop bucket up 1/2 way with floor stripper. Dip the mop into the stripper a lightly wring. Break the floor down into 6' by 6' sections and start applying the stripper to the floor at the furthest corner of the room. Apply the stripper in a figure 8 motion overlapping each stroke by about an inch. After you have applied the stripper let the it sit on the floor for 5-7 minutes. This will give the stripper a chance to react with the floor finish.
Next place a hi-pro or black floor pad on your floor machines. When stripping a floor move the floor machine back and forth on the floor overlapping by at least 1 inch on each pass. As the floor finish is removed from the floor it will become duller. You may need to spend extra time on areas with finish buildup. The main traffic area on the floor will have less buildup than low traffic areas.
Once used the floor machine on the 6' by 6' area remove the stripper from the floor using either a blended mop of wet dry vacuum preferably one that has a front mount squeegee. (NSS is a great manufacturer of wet dry vacuums with front mount squeegees). Do not let the stripper finish mixture dry. if the area does dry apply more stripper to reloosen the finish.
After the you have removed the floor stripper from the floor rinse the floor with warm water. Rinse the floor two more times with cold water.
After the third rinse with plain water, rinse the floor with a floor stripper neutralizer. Neutralizer will reduce the white residue left by the floor stripper so that the floor finish can adhere to the floor much better.
After the neutralizer dries check for white residue on the floor using a black towel. If residue still exists rinse one more time with cold water. Once all these steps have been completed check the floor for shiny spots. If shiny spots are evident you may need to re-strip these areas.

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