How to Apply Floor Finish Using a Floor Finish Mop
Procedure:
Prior to finishing or re-finishing all dust and debris must be removed either through a scrubbing or stripping procedure.
1. Inspect Floor- Make sure that the floor is thoroughly clean and dry.
2. Prepare Area- Set up “Wet Floor” signs in public areas.
3. Place a clean towel at your entrance/exit doorway. This helps in reducing sand & grit from being tracked onto your floor during the finish process.
4. Place a new trash liner in your mop bucket and allow excess to drape over the side of the bucket, this will line the inside of the mop bucket. This process will save clean-up time and avoid contaminating your floor finish.
5. Pour appropriate floor finish into lined mop bucket.
6. Place a clean mop wringer onto the bucket.
7. Place your finish mop into bucket and GENTLY wring out excess material. This will remove all excess finish while eliminating any foam build-up in the bucket. Otherwise, you could end up with bubbles in the floor finish.
8. Apply a thin coat to the perimeter of the area to be finished. It is not necessary to go to the baseboard. We recommend no more than two (2) coats of finish around the perimeter. It is a rare occasion when people walk around the perimeter and scuff the floor.
9. Begin applying the finish in a “figure eight motion”. The figure eight motion allows for a 20-25% overlap; therefore leaving no missed spots. The first coat should be applied in a “north to south” direction and additional coats should be alternated in “east to west” and vice versa on subsequent coats. This will eliminate any “missed” spots on the floor.
10. Allow floor finish to dry; approximate dry times vary between 20-25 minutes between coats of finish. A general rule of thumb is, apply enough even coats so the floor “Looks Wet When It’s Dry”. This can usually be accomplished with 3-5 coats of finish.
Optional Procedure (for small floor jobs)
- Fill the appropriate pail (10-12 quart) with floor finish.
- Dip the head (where the mop handle attaches) of the finish mop into the pail containing the finish (this will allow the finish to flow through the fibers at a consistent rate).
- Begin applying a thin even coat of finish around the perimeter of the room. Turn the mop head often and re-dip into the pail before the mop becomes dried out.
- Using a side to side (figure eight) movement, apply the finish to the floor area and overlap the strokes of the mop.
- Allow floor to dry 20-25 minutes and reapply additional coats. *Alternate direction.
- How many coats do I need? A general rule of thumb is to apply enough even coats so the floor “Looks Wet When It’s Dry”. This can usually be accomplished with 3-5 coats of finish.
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