Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: shiny floors

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Posted by Kara Tillotson (Member # 3899) on 12-26-2006, 02:25 PM:

I was wondering, what would you suggest to use to get out mosiac tiled floor nice and shiny? It looks so pretty when its wet from mopping it, but that of sourse doesnt stay when it dries.

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 12-26-2006, 02:54 PM:

Use a commercial floor wax that'll not leave a slippery surface.
You don't want lawsuits! [Smile]

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-26-2006, 07:04 PM:

HAve someone who strips & polishes floors for a living come in and strip & wax/seal the floor. From then on, a routine regimen of cleaning with a neutral cleaner and clean rayon mopheads will give you the best overall results..

[Big Grin]

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 12-26-2006, 09:12 PM:

I'm with Jason on this one, best way is to have it done professionaly-though be wary, rates can vary by quite a bit. The wax will eventually wear off, so you'll need them to come in from time to time to do it again. Depending on business levels at your theatre 2-4 times a year should be sufficient.

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 12-28-2006, 08:44 AM:

We replaced our painted concrete floors in our concessions building last winter with a commercial vinyl composition tile.
I layed it myself over the course of 3 weeks (usually working 4-5 hours a night)and ended up putting 7 coats of wax on it to get it up a decent wear-ability factor.

After I put the 7 coats of wax on with a clean rayon mop, I let it cure for 4 days then I rented a buffer and went to town. The buffing part was the easiest, however you can quickly burn a whole through the layers of wax if your not careful. I took a spray bottle, filled it with the liquid wax and "spray buffed" the floors on the final pass. The results were amazing!! The floors had a deep high gloss finish that looked like glass when they were done.

Now that we're closed for the winter, I've got to do it again, but this time I have to strip off the original wax and re-seal the floors. The hardest part of the whole process was moving all of the equipment out of the way. We ended up with 2 platters in the office, and all of the concessions equipment in the womens restroom.

If you've got the money... hire somebody to do it, as I've heard the stripping of the wax can be a pain in the butt.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 12-28-2006, 09:05 AM:

I wasn't going to respond since the original topis was a mosaic floor topic:

There is no substitute for warehouse floor paint; epoxy 2 coat. EVERYTHING must be stripped, cleaned and acid etched before application. "40 years of floor maintenance in 2 days" is a very good way to look at this. Expensive, yes; will never wear out. Can be too slick if not handled properly.

The advantage of this is no wax, ever; forever shiny. Acid can't touch it.

Remember in concessions and theatre floors, Coke is the enemy. It will lift any tile except ceramic; it will lift any normal paint, except epoxy 2 step, and it will attack the top level of concrete because it is acidic. Louis

Posted by Joe Elliott (Member # 4006) on 12-28-2006, 03:52 PM:

Back when I managed the drive-in, we used a product from ZEP and I can't recall the name of it, but I just checked their web site, and apparently they don't make it anymore anyway. It seems to be the same as some of their UHS Burnishing finishes. We would mop it on once a month or so. It was more like a clear acrylic paint than wax. It would shine vinyl tile, ceramic tile, even painted floors. It would take about 3 or 4 coats to get a good shine to start, and then a thin coat once a month.

Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-28-2006, 11:32 PM:

A quick Google yields..

A really long link that I should have shortened.

[ 01-11-2007, 06:09 PM: Message edited by: Adam Martin ]

Posted by Joe Elliott (Member # 4006) on 12-30-2006, 09:48 PM:

I remembered the name, it was Zep Shield. It's great stuff. Still don't know if they still make it, as I could not find it through the regular links on the website, but when I did a search on it I found it. Here's the info I found on it.

ZEP SHIELD
TYPE: Durable, Low-Maintenance Floor Finish PROD. #1971
BENEFITS: Zep Shield is a slip-resistant, water-based emulsion, acrylic copolymer, dry-bright finish that offers high durability and low maintenance. Metal-interlocked. Resistant to traffic scuffs and black heel marks. Each coat dries in 20 to 30 minutes. Easy to apply and level. Recoats and blends well with existing finish. Part of Zep`s "Next Step" system of floor care products. Meets or exceeds Slip Resistance Standards (when properly maintained) established by CSPA and UL as tested in accordance with ASTM D-2047.
CAUTION: Product should be kept from freezing.

If they don't make it anymore, you may be able to get whatever they replaced it with. We were very happy with Shield, but I should warn you, it doesn't come back up easily. Treat it as if you are painting the floor, and don't get it on anything you don't want it on, like carpet or walls.

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 01-03-2007, 10:51 AM:

I do know you can get some Zep brand products at Home Depot or Gordon Food Service (dont remember which). We have bought their wood floor cleaner before and seems to work fine. Maybe one of them can special order it if not in stock.

Posted by Kara Tillotson (Member # 3899) on 01-11-2007, 05:21 PM:

thanks. I will see what I can find.
We did rent a buffer etc. I think it just went so long without any care its going to take a million coats of wax to get it shiny. I just want sure if there was some sort of thick shellac stuff used on porcelin or not.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 01-13-2007, 08:25 AM:

See my post above. This epoxy paint is severely clear (you can see the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket.)

Maybe, if you can find a good prep method; clear epoxy would give you what you want with the added advantage that wax would never be needed. Brand name: Tennant; they have sales engineers. Louis