Home › VCT Stripping & Waxing
Vinyl composition tile stops shining when the old finish yellows and traps the dirt underneath it. Stripping back to the tile and laying fresh coats is what brings the gloss back; buffing a tired finish will not.
What West Michigan facility managers ask us most about vinyl composition tile.
Stripping chemically removes every existing coat of finish down to the bare tile, which is the only way to get rid of the yellowed, scuffed, built-up layers underneath. The floor is then neutralized and rinsed, several coats of new finish are applied with cure time between each, and the result is burnished with a high-speed buffer. It is a multi-hour process, which is why it is normally done overnight.
It depends entirely on traffic. A busy school corridor or retail entrance may need a full strip annually with scrub-and-recoats in between; a low-traffic office suite can go considerably longer. Scrub-and-recoat maintenance between full strips is far cheaper and keeps the floor looking consistently good rather than cycling between excellent and shabby.
Yes, and for VCT that is normally how it is done. Each finish coat has to cure before the next goes on, so the floor needs to be out of service for several hours. Overnight and weekend scheduling means your building is ready before anyone arrives.
Schools, offices, retail, healthcare, and medical facilities, churches, and light industrial spaces throughout West Michigan. Multi-building and multi-site work is welcome.
No. Buffing, or burnishing, is a high-speed polish of the finish already there. It restores gloss, removes light scuffing, and it is fast. Waxing means applying new coats of finish. Regular buffing extends the life of a finish considerably and delays the need for a full strip.
Usually, and dramatically. Yellowing is almost always old finish rather than the tile itself, so stripping it off and re-coating produces a floor that looks close to new. Tiles that are physically broken, gouged, or missing need replacement, which is a flooring job rather than a cleaning one.
