Wood floor refinishing

[Russ T.]

I bought a TM from a guy in KC a couple weeks ago. We were talking about VCT and other services we offer. He said that if I own a 175, and am comfortable swinging it, I should consider refinishing wood floors. I'm open to learning almost anything that could benefit our company but I have quite a few questions. What about dust? What pads? What about corners? Remove "quarter rounds" or baseboards? What finish? How long does it take? How much do you charge? Are there classes offered? Thanks guys!


Russ Terhaar
The Clean Machine of Iowa LLC
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com

 

[Bill Morgan]

Hey Russ, I don't know for sure but perhaps this guy was referring to cleaning and polishing hardwood floors? There is a "dustless" method of prepping or lightly etching the floor finish to make the new thin coats of poly adhere to the wood floor. There is a special screen used for this type of refinishing. There are youtube videos made by several chemical manufactures demonstrating the process, Bridgepoint, Ultra Chem Labs to name a few. Some use a red pad, some use a screen. Which one to use depends on the condition of the current floor finish, what the customer wants, and ultimately how much are they willing to pay you to do the job; quick and simple vs quality and longevity. I think the majority of cleaners are doing a deep cleaning of all the store bought do it yourself wood floor products that seem to build up of time and dull the finish. Once that's removed, in most cases, a nice quick buffing with a cotton pad brings back the nice shine most homeowners are looking for. Some might put a single layer of water based poly and then buff, but I'm not positive. Harper used to do a lot of hardwood cleaning and polishing and he posted pictures of his work. Not sure if they are still viewable now or not. Said it was easy work, good money and customers got the immediate gratification so many customers are looking for when they get nice shiney floor again. Bridgepoint has an educational dvd for the process. I had one and don't know where it went after my move. It was pretty good. Contact Scott Warrington, he could probably get you a copy. The guy you were talking to is correct... Your 175 can do a lot more for you than just strip and recoats of vct. Sorry for 1 giant paragraph.. my enter key won't work. Check out the web.. lots of good stuff to get you started. Then you can come back here and ask specific questions. Lots of guys here do it. Good Luck!

 

[J Scott W]

Actual refinishing is a big step. However, many carpet cleaners have found a good add-on is wood floor cleaning and preservation. Later when you feel comfortable you may want to learn to screen floors.

I have some videos showing options to clean wood floors and preserve the finish using a 175 RPM floor machine or machines made specifically for wood floors. If you, or anyone else wants information on this service, send me an email with your address. I will attach what I can to the email reply and mail you the longer videos on DVD. scottw@bridgewatercorp.net

 

[Bill Morgan]

Here is the post I was referring to. http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showth...wood-floor&highlight=hardwood+floor+polishing Hope it helps answer some of your questions regarding pricing, type of pads, cleaner, etc. Get a copy of Scott's DVD. It's very well put together and informative. You'll get a lot out of it. I'm looking at ways to diversify my services and this is one service I'm considering. I don't know about the whole screening the floors, etc but maybe down the road. Cleaning and buffing seems pretty easy though.

 

[FLYERMAN]

Let me give you the benefit of my experience.

Interlinks wood floor cleaning/finishing system is the easiest out there. Here is the break down with what details I think you might need to make a decision. More details would be needed to actually do a wood floor but you can find those details in Interlinks video Scott is providing.

First you need to prepare your customer for what to expect. You are NOT going to restore her floor to the new appearance it once had. Far from it in fact, But... Tell her your system will produce a shiny floor but it will not sand out any deep scratches/gouges etc.

Second is the process itself. Vacuum the floor, that's easy enough right. Then mist on (I use a hand held 2 qt sprayer) a wood floor cleaner (I use Interlinks or Zeps) then place a maroon pad on the floor, then place a white pad on the maroon pad, then place the 175 rpm machine on the white pad. Now scrub the floor then vacuum up the slurry. It isn't much because you don't use much water with this system. Repeat as you move around the floor. When I'm all done cleaning like that I mist on some more cleaner but even less than the first time and run over the floor with a cotton bonnet.

Now the floor is ready for a coat or two of finish.

If you want to just clean the floor and not refinish it here is what I do. Leave out the maroon pad and just use a white or red pad to scrub. The other step remain the same. If you want to make it even easier just use the cleaner and the bonnet. This way there is no need to vacuum up any slurry because you are going straight to the last step and let me tell you this can/does produce pretty amazing results in it's own right.

Good luck and start on small jobs until you're comfortable.

 

[Russ T.]

Let me give you the benefit of my experience.

Interlinks wood floor cleaning/finishing system is the easiest out there. Here is the break down with what details I think you might need to make a decision. More details would be needed to actually do a wood floor but you can find those details in Interlinks video Scott is providing.

First you need to prepare your customer for what to expect. You are NOT going to restore her floor to the new appearance it once had. Far from it in fact, But... Tell her your system will produce a shiny floor but it will not sand out any deep scratches/gouges etc.

Second is the process itself. Vacuum the floor, that's easy enough right. Then mist on (I use a hand held 2 qt sprayer) a wood floor cleaner (I use Interlinks or Zeps) then place a maroon pad on the floor, then place a white pad on the maroon pad, then place the 175 rpm machine on the white pad. Now scrub the floor then vacuum up the slurry. It isn't much because you don't use much water with this system. Repeat as you move around the floor. When I'm all done cleaning like that I mist on some more cleaner but even less than the first time and run over the floor with a cotton bonnet.

Now the floor is ready for a coat or two of finish.

If you want to just clean the floor and not refinish it here is what I do. Leave out the maroon pad and just use a white or red pad to scrub. The other step remain the same. If you want to make it even easier just use the cleaner and the bonnet. This way there is no need to vacuum up any slurry because you are going straight to the last step and let me tell you this can/does produce pretty amazing results in it's own right.

Good luck and start on small jobs until you're comfortable.

Thanks man! I really appreciate the time.


Russ Terhaar
The Clean Machine of Iowa LLC
www.thegreatcleanmachine.com

 

[FLYERMAN]

You're welcome, and if you want to chat about this on the phone give me a call..801-712-1654 I live in utah so call in the evening before ten.

 

[jcooper]

Change the "Wood floor refinishing" to wood floor cleaning... Refinishing is misleading.

 

[tmdry]

Change the "Wood floor refinishing" to wood floor cleaning... Refinishing is misleading.

I agree.

and be ready to deal with people that want all the scratches, dents, water stains, rug stained, and pretty much everything else out, but only want to pay for clean and buff.