Blistering on VCT

[ACE]

This a "did I do that?" Type post. We refinished around 1000 sq ft of VCT on a concrete subfloor last night. I used Zep brand striper and mixed it strong 1:1. I had not used that label for a long time and did not bother reading the instructions (maximum recommended Dilution is 1:3). I just mixed it strong because there was heavy buildup and I did not want to strip twice. I did not notice the damage until I was putting down the second coat of sealer. There was what looked like warts randomly grouped in a couple of areas. I have defiantly seen this type of damage before but never thought much about what caused it. The blisters where flexible to the touch. The odd thing is that the damage only happened in areas that probably had water damage /moisture issues in the past ( near a utility room and in a bathroom). I tried searching online and read that this type of damage could be caused by high ph chemicals in the concrete reacting to the adhesive. Anyone seen this happen with a strip job before?

 

[Able 1]

All the VCT I have done I neutralize and scrub with a red pad after sucking up the stripper...

 

[ACE]

I did mop down a neutralizer. I did not flood with neutralizer and scrub it in.

 

[joe harper]

SEE ABOVE :arrow: :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

sTrIppEr wArt"S.... !gotcha!

Alway's WASH your sTpIppEr.."ThouRouGhLY"... before WhAcKzInG... :idea: :mrgreen:

 

[Able 1]

How thick was the wax? I have done Pick & Save stores that had more then 15 coats on them, and have never seen a wart . Lot's of razor blades and coffee cans tho.

I think the neutralizing didn't do the trick.

 

[ACE]

Maybe I was not clear. The blisters were in the tile not the finish :x .

 

[floorguy]

you didnt notice them before you stripped???


anyway, yes, its from water, or "other" chems usually...it gets in the tile and bubbles it

depending on the tile, they usually go kinda orange in color

some times they are grouped and other times they are spread out 6 or so per tile...at about a pea size...

pictures???

 

[ACE]

I thought you would know exactly what I was talking about. Have you ever noticed this issue right after a strip? No pictures. I’ll try to take some next time I’m back this weekend. I’m going to be pissed if more show up since I was there. So, far it’s not very noticeable and might not catch the customers eye before they pay for the refinish. I did not notice them before I striped. I have been maintaining the VCT since It was new 4 years ago. It’s my impression that the aggressive strip activated some underlying issue. It’s just like you said a half dozen or so blisters on each tile and some tiles with heavy groups and blistered edges. I wonder why the damage is not more uniform?

 

[Hoody]

I've had this problem, to correct it we had to use a propane stripper and "grind" the area(was quite a large area) down a bit past the bubbles. It was a risky move but seemed it worked. Other times I had to fix only 2-3 tiles by hand which is quite the task if you've not had experience re-stripping individual tiles, and getting the finish to blend to the rest.

I'm curious if Doug has any other pointers on correcting the issue.

 

[floorguy]

usually you just have to deal with it.....oh and i thought of another situation....is it by windows???

anyway, its like when you get real bad rust on a tile.....ITS ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE TILE... if the chemical, or moisture or UV rays has messed with the tiles make up. Then ehhh

On that grinding did it still "look" or "blend in" the same???

because if you look at a new tile, there is an UP and DOWN side...ever break them in half, its not as "refined" as the top is....which makes it tough to "grind" them down....


oh also is it in an area where little rocks could get in??


i am 99% sure its not your issue, because as i re-read it was heavy build up....which means it changed the lighting look to it.....you take out the "smoothing effect" of Heavy build up, then it makes "blemishes" stand out more

 

[Hoody]

It still blended well the bubbling wasn't very severe at all, but did range from a yellowish to orange color. I've seen where others have went down too far, and the tile looks completely different than all the others. It tends to look like a different color and if there is any "design" it changes that too, but we did not experience that. I remember not being able to correct the issue 100%, but it was a great improvement, the client was happy.

Not stripping evenly causes a similar issue with the tiles looking different.

 

[ACE]

It’s an older building and there had been several different floor coverings in the past. That probably includes asbestos tile with the black solvent adhesive. My guess is the moisture issues in those areas set off a chemical reaction. It’s as if striping let the tiles breath and allowed that crap to move through the tile to the surface.