Floor Finish Characteristics - The primary purpose of a floor finish is to protect the floor. The secondary purpose is to enhance its beauty, and the third purpose is to help to make daily mainte­nance easier by providing a smooth coating that can be easily swept, dust mopped, cleaned or repaired.  Follow­ing is a list of characteristics that all floor finishes can be rated on. 

The type of finish chosen will depend on the needs of your floor surface in relation to these charac­teristics:

•  Removability - When a finish is put down on a floor surface, you want to be able to remove it as it becomes soiled or discolored.  An ideal floor finish is designed with a certain amount of removability in it.  It should be able to withstand multiple scrubbing and traffic, and then you should be able to remove it with a compatible stripper.

•  Soil Resistance - The finish's ability to resist the damaging effects of soil on the surface of the film.  Floors can appear dirty on the surface if the finish is not able to keep the dirt from imbedding within the fin­ish's film.

•  Slip Resistance - Slip resistance is a measurement of the coefficient of friction.  The ideal floor finish slip re­sistance would not be less than 0.5 (measured on a James Machine) and no greater than 0.6, unless it is an unusual situation where a higher slip resistance is de­sired.  If the slip resistance is less than 0.5, there will be a tendency to slip on the floor.  If the slip resistance is higher than 0.6 or 0.8, there will be a tendency to catch your foot and alter the working pattern, (i.e., you stumble or stub your toe on the floor).

•  Durability - When you put a floor finish on the floor, you want it to be able to withstand the abuse and not show wear patterns.  Ideally, the finish should not be stripped off more than once a year.

•  Drying Time - When you apply the floor finish to the floor, you want it to dry relatively fast, usually within thirty minutes.  Some floor finishes are designed to dry in a shorter period of time so that multiple coats can be put down in less time.

•  Coverage – Most floor finishes are designed to give approximately 2500 square feet per gallon, which will reduce your cost and maximize the value of the product.

•  Gloss – When a floor finish is applied, you want the depth achieved by applying multiple coats.  The wet-look or gloss shine can easily be achieved with the finishes of today.

•  Leveling – When a finish is applied, it should sheet out and leave no marks on the floor.

•  Non-Foaming – You want a finish that is non-foaming.  If this characteristic is missing, the action of moving the mop in the bucket and through the wringer, will create foam, which can leave bubbles in the floor finish that pop once the finish dries, creating rings in the finish.

•  Buffable and Non-Buffable – There will be times when you want a product that is buffable, so that you can repair scuffs and scratch marks.  There are other locations, such as patient rooms or classrooms, where you want a non-buffable finish that is cost effective, dries bright and is hard.  Hon-buffable finishes are more resistant to scuffs and scratch marks, but more time consuming to maintain.

•  Freeze-Thaw Stability – Your floor finishes should be designed to pass three freeze-thaw cycles, be certain you stir the liquid so that it will flow freely with no grain or separation during application.

•  Recoatability – When you are applying multiple coats of finish, expect it to be dry and recoatable within thirty minutes.  You want to be able to lay down another coat of finish without excessive “drag.”  When you recoat, the topcoat should interface with the preceding coat so that they merge together and form one continuous film.

•  Water Sensitivity – Most coatings have some sensitivity to water standing on their surface.  The sensitivity shows up as a softening or whiting and dulling of the finish.  A quality finish will show greater resistance to the effect of standing water for greater periods of time.

•  Detergent Resistance – A finish should exhibit good detergent resistance, otherwise it will be scrubbed away each time the floor is cleaned.  Poor detergent resistance can also show up, as dulling after the floor has been damp mopped.

•  Powdering – Powdering is usually caused by poor stripping procedures or application of finish onto a cold floor.  Floor finish can also powder when subjected to the heat and friction of high speed burnishing.  Be sure to only use high speed rated finished if you are utilizing a high-speed floor care program.