What is the best way to make a tile floor really shine? I am going to be cleanning the basement of our church. The basement has only been in use for about 6 months. I tried to use Johnson Paste wax ( I used it in the Army) but it made the floor way to slick. I am at a loss I want it to look good but do not know how.
best way to shine tile floors
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ncl's ONE !
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remember what we used in the army, too,,, thankfully wax has come a long way since then :laughing: call your local janitorial supply house - we like ncl's ONE, swing buffer, & white pad but you may have to strip 1st !
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You know ceramic tile looks its best when there's nothing on it...no wax, no acrylics, no soap, no detergents. We have white ceramic in our kitchen and the way the lightning is at any time of the day, you can see everything on it. :furious:
We use Windex+Microfibre mop. We have two dogs... Windex and other glass cleaners are basically just alcohol and therefore evaporate. The dirt left behind gets picked up by the microfibre and within seconds, the floor is sparkling clean. And dry. :yes:
Anytime we put dishwashing liquid or Mr Clean or any other "floor" product, there are streaks and a stickiness that won't go away. It's because these products all have about 12% solids plus sticky detergents in them that doesn't evaporate and just sits there once the water has flashed off.
But now you may have to strip the floor of whatever is on there now, but that's a mop-and-bucket type operation, or a swing machine if you're in the trade. Get everything up and off and you'll have a slip resisitant surface to walk on. It may not be shiny like a mirror, tho.
Since tile is hard compared to waxes, it won't scratch or scuff as easily. There is no point, IMO, to put a topical coating on a tile.
Unless you dig maintenance...:laughing:
We use Windex+Microfibre mop. We have two dogs... Windex and other glass cleaners are basically just alcohol and therefore evaporate. The dirt left behind gets picked up by the microfibre and within seconds, the floor is sparkling clean. And dry. :yes:
Anytime we put dishwashing liquid or Mr Clean or any other "floor" product, there are streaks and a stickiness that won't go away. It's because these products all have about 12% solids plus sticky detergents in them that doesn't evaporate and just sits there once the water has flashed off.
But now you may have to strip the floor of whatever is on there now, but that's a mop-and-bucket type operation, or a swing machine if you're in the trade. Get everything up and off and you'll have a slip resisitant surface to walk on. It may not be shiny like a mirror, tho.
Since tile is hard compared to waxes, it won't scratch or scuff as easily. There is no point, IMO, to put a topical coating on a tile.
Unless you dig maintenance...:laughing:
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As I'm sure you know now, vinyl tiles are even less shiny when new than cheap ceramics and don't have the baked-on glazing ceramics do, neither are they are as hard. Compared to ceramic, they're soft and often made to absorb the repeated 'shocks' of footprints. Trouble is, also they're cheap cost-wise too and therefore have a huge market share. A good installation - just like ceramic - goes a long way in how the ultimate floor 'looks" once installed.
On the other hand their surface is tailor-made for an acrylic liquid wax, as opposed to a paste wax that goes on thicker. It's not a coincidence that many companies - for example: Armstrong - make both tile and 'wax' to make them shine (because normally the unwaxed tiles don't). Acrylic floor waxes are easy to make and therefore many people make them.
The paste wax you may have used in the Army was based on buffable softer waxes that shine a lot more, and given the availability of cheap labour, was buffed a lot...and therefore looked pretty good.
As for acrylics, NCL's s "ONE" is a good one, but there are several others out there; you're not going to find much new under the sun in acrylic wax technology... still, each manufacturer will have their own way of applying it. That may be just as important as the product itself, so just get hold of one and apply according to the instructions.
Like stone polishing, the ultimate shine on a surface has a lot to do with the underlying preparation done to the floor. So, stripping and cleaning the floor prior to waxing is a big part of how the waxing process goes. The word 'clarity' springs to mind, as a 'clear' shine has most to do with the preparation of the subsurface than it has to do with the final surface. All has to do with light reflection.
It"ll never look like a highly polished marble floor...but didn't cost that in the first place.:wink:
On the other hand their surface is tailor-made for an acrylic liquid wax, as opposed to a paste wax that goes on thicker. It's not a coincidence that many companies - for example: Armstrong - make both tile and 'wax' to make them shine (because normally the unwaxed tiles don't). Acrylic floor waxes are easy to make and therefore many people make them.
The paste wax you may have used in the Army was based on buffable softer waxes that shine a lot more, and given the availability of cheap labour, was buffed a lot...and therefore looked pretty good.
As for acrylics, NCL's s "ONE" is a good one, but there are several others out there; you're not going to find much new under the sun in acrylic wax technology... still, each manufacturer will have their own way of applying it. That may be just as important as the product itself, so just get hold of one and apply according to the instructions.
Like stone polishing, the ultimate shine on a surface has a lot to do with the underlying preparation done to the floor. So, stripping and cleaning the floor prior to waxing is a big part of how the waxing process goes. The word 'clarity' springs to mind, as a 'clear' shine has most to do with the preparation of the subsurface than it has to do with the final surface. All has to do with light reflection.
It"ll never look like a highly polished marble floor...but didn't cost that in the first place.:wink:
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