When to strip, and when not to
Strip the finish when it is worn, damaged or built up in so many layers that routine cleaning no longer improves it, or when you are preparing the floor for a new finish. If only the top layer is dirty, try a lighter job first: the manufacturer’s coated-floors programme includes a top scrub, in which two passes with RG 800 remove the dirty top layer of the finish.
| Floor condition | Pad | What comes next |
|---|---|---|
| Finish intact, only the top layer is dirty | RG 800, two passes with a scrubber-dryer | Daily maintenance with RG 3500 |
| Finish worn, damaged or built up in layers | HD 400, or HD 220 for the hardest cases | A new finish, or the uncoated-floor programme |
| Preparing for a new or permanent coating | HD 220 | A new finish, following its maker’s instructions |
| Stone, terrazzo or concrete under old finish or wax | HD 400, and HD 220 on concrete | The High Performance programme, water only |
What Heavy Duty does, and what it does not
Heavy Duty is the manufacturer’s line for surface preparation and stripping with water only. Both pads are made of a tough material, and the manufacturer describes them as a problem solver in difficult cases where more cleaning power is needed. They run on low-speed and high-speed machines; strip finish with a low-speed one.
| Pad | Colour | What the manufacturer specifies it for |
|---|---|---|
| HD 400 | red | Stripping linoleum and polymer-coated floors (listed first in the manufacturer’s table), preparing concrete, restoring epoxy, and untreated granite and matt porcelain on a plain surface |
| HD 220 | brown | Heavy stripping of emulsions and coatings from PVC, linoleum, rubber and epoxy, preparing floors before renewal or permanent coatings, preparing concrete |
What Heavy Duty does not do
- Scratches and orange peel on stone and terrazzo are a job for Hybrids. For restoring marble and terrazzo the manufacturer’s table specifies Hybrids, not HD pads.
- It is not a daily pad. For daily cleaning use RG 3500 on coated floors and HP 3500 on concrete, stone and epoxy.
- It is not for every floor. For very thin PVC, epoxy terrazzo and painted epoxy, glazed porcelain, treated granite and varnished wood, the manufacturer’s table specifies neither restoring nor stripping.
- On a burnisher, only on uncoated floors. In the high-speed ladder the manufacturer lists HD only for preparing and honing uncoated floors.
What you need
- A low-speed single-disc machine or a scrubber-dryer; they work best for stripping.
- A velcro pad holder, which the manufacturer recommends for best results.
- Heavy Duty pads in your machine’s size: 5" to 28", also 36" and 48", and rectangular pads for machines with a rectangular plate.
- A scrubber-dryer or wet vacuum to pick up the water and stripped finish.
- Clean water, no chemical stripper.
Step by step
Stripping the finish
- Sweep the floor and remove coarse dirt. Close the area to traffic until the job is done.
- Fit HD 400 centred on the velcro holder of a low-speed single-disc machine or scrubber-dryer. For thick, stubborn layers and before a new finish, choose HD 220.
- Wet the surface with water and work in overlapping passes. Add no detergent or stripper.
- Pick up the water and stripped finish as you go, with a scrubber-dryer or wet vacuum, and check that the finish is gone everywhere. Where some remains, repeat.
- Rinse the floor with clean water, pick up the water and let the floor dry completely.
- After work, rinse the pad and let it dry.
When only the top layer is dirty (top scrub)
- Fit RG 800 to a scrubber-dryer.
- Make two passes with water. According to the manufacturer, they remove the dirty top layer of the finish.
- Carry on with daily maintenance using RG 3500, or RG 8000 on very soft finishes.
Unless it is an extreme case, the manufacturer recommends water only to grind, restore, strip, clean and maintain every floor.
What comes after stripping
After stripping, you decide whether the floor gets a new finish or is maintained without one. That depends on the type of floor.
Linoleum, VCT and other polymer-coated floors
Prepare the floor with HD 220 and apply a new finish following its maker’s instructions. Burnish it with RG 8000 on a high-speed machine only once the new layers have dried completely, or the pad may scratch them. Then maintain it with the coated-floors programme: RG 3500 every day, and two passes with RG 800 every one to two months.
According to the manufacturer’s case study, a chemical-free mechanical top scrub can reduce coating consumption by more than 50 % and save 50 % of the labour involved in periodic maintenance.
Stone, terrazzo, concrete and epoxy
The manufacturer’s table lists these floors as uncoated. Once the old finish or wax is off, carry on with the uncoated-floor programme: deep cleaning with HP 800, gloss upgrade with HP 800 and/or HP 1800, and daily maintenance with HP 3500 or HP 1800, with water only. The details are in the guides to concrete, stone and terrazzo and epoxy.
In practice
Cleaning contractor, very old marble and hydraulic tiles. The company used HD 400 for stripping and extreme cleaning, along with HP 800, 1800 and 3500 pads and Hybrids. According to the manufacturer’s case study, this let it add floor restoration to its services.
Food plant, old epoxy floor. To prevent contamination, the floor was restored without chemicals: with RG 400 or HD 400, then deep cleaned with HP 800, with an optional gloss upgrade using HP 1800.
Common mistakes
- Stripping when a top scrub would do. If only the top layer is dirty, make two passes with RG 800 first. Keep the HD pads for real stripping.
- A chemical stripper out of habit. Heavy Duty strips with water only; the manufacturer recommends detergent only in extreme cases.
- HD on a burnisher on a coated floor. On high-speed machines the manufacturer specifies HD only for uncoated floors. Strip with a low-speed machine.
- Leaving stripped finish on the floor. Pick up the water and residue as you go, before it dries.
- Burnishing a new finish too soon. Burnish new layers only once they are completely dry.
- HD as a daily pad. HD is for preparation and stripping; for daily cleaning, choose the pad in your floor’s programme.
Next step
For coated floors, find the pad and size in the pad finder for linoleum and coated floors. If you are not sure whether the finish needs stripping or a top scrub is enough, send us an inquiry describing the floor, the finish and the machine. We suggest the pads, sequence and size, and send you an offer. Prices for every size are in the price list.
