Where did I go wrong with my floor.

Just recently I had a run in with one of my largest contract cleaning clients.  "The floors look like garbage" , "The finish is powdering, it looks like it is starting to flake off.  Your finish must have gotten frozen" he said to me.  One of my competitors brought in a Technical Floorcare specialist from one of the largest finish manufacturers in the country.  Of course seeing opportunity the "Technical Specialist" immediately solved the problem.  My floor finish had been frozen.  How kind of him to decide this was the issue without even getting close to a microscope or even running pH tests as well as 22 other "technical" tests that could have diagnosed the real answer.

Why wouldn't my competitor go in that direction?  It's a clear cut opportunity at more business.  All other thoughts must have left his head at that very moment.  After two weeks with the tests that we ran, we arrived at a conclusive answer.  Our finish had not been frozen damaged and it was not defective.  Just to prove it to ourselves we applied finish from the same batch and pallet to a convenience store floor.  No issues.  Great results....

So where did things go wrong?

We have our suspicions.  In fact we were able to surmise that one of three things had occurred.  

Rather than digging in any deeper I decided to write down what I have learned about what causes floor finish failures.  

What do I need to avoid?

Contamination: Often floor finish is contaminated in one of three ways.  It is applied with a contaminated application device.  Or storage and application device.  The surface can be contaminated, but we will talk about next paragraph.  Here is the trick.  Always scrub your mop bucket, mop handles and dispensing containers before you use them.  Never use a pad or mop that has been coated in finish for more than 72 hours.  In fact for the cost of a new mop or wax pad.  Buy new!

Residual floor finish or improper rinsing:  If you have gone to the lengths to strip a floor.  Make certain that you have removed all of the old floor finish from your floor.  Take an extra couple of minutes to make sure that you have rinsed your floor 100 percent.  Just a tiny amount of floor stripper can easily destroy an entire floor.

Application errors:  recoat go too quick , too high humidity, too many coats,  coats that are too thick

Low quality floor finish:  make sure that you research the quality and customer reviews of the product that you will be using.  Not all finishes are created equal.

Temperature or moisture issues can definitely prevent adhesion, cause cloudiness and greatly affect the overall results and longevity of your, efforts.  

Stale dated product:  It happens.... Don't get me wrong.  Although most finishes are made with a two year shelf life.  Many can be applied up to three years after date of manufacture.  Always be certain of your finish manufacturer's shelf life commitment.  

Floor finish is every bit as permanent as paint.  No matter which way you slice it.  The better you do the job, the better the results will be.  We will do everything we can to get you the best results and longevity from your hard work.  Be sure to talk to us before you do your floor.  If you are concerned please look at the resources section of our website for more advise.

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Results may vary....  Just kidding.  We can get you amazing results we promise.