Timber floors have maintained their popularity over the years, whether a mellow waxed finish, a glossy polyurethane or a soft satin finish.
Floating timber floors are used increasingly in commercial and domestic settings. These floors are a product of modern technology and come in many forms. Many of these floors are treated with a factory finish which is suitable for low traffic and domestic applications, but in high traffic, or commercial situations the floor should be treated with a sacrificial coating which is easily repaired and recoated.
It is important that the coating has high surface adhesion and does not easily scratch off. The finish should be hard enough to resist scuffing, yet soft enough for easy mark removal. It is preferable for the finish to be maintainable with either low (4000 rpm), high (1000 rpm) U.H.S
Equipment should not be used as heat generated can affect the floor surface.

New floor preparation
When preparing a new floor it is important to use a minimum amount of water and not to flood mop any floating floor. Dry stripping is the preferable method.
1. Using a well rung out mop and suitable floor stripper, the floor should be stripped at approximately 40 sq mtrs at a time.It is important to remove any residue that may have lodged between the planks. After two to three minutes pick up the slurry and rinse with clean water. Repeat rinsing of entire floor to remove and residue.
2. When the floor is dry it should be coated with a medium/hard floor finish with slip resistance and a high level of adhesion. With a finish that is of medium hardness it will be easily repaired and maintained. The number of coats required will depend on the desired depth of gloss.

Important
There are points which must be remembered with floating floors:
• Always apply coatings along planks.
• Abrasive hand pads or steel wool must never be used.
• Never buff a scuff mark without pre cleaning.
• Scuff marks should be removed with a soft cloth soaked in diluted neutral detergent.
Spirit based waxes
In domestic situations and in older or historic buildings a more mellow floor finish may be required and for this application spirit based waxes are used.
The waxes feed and nourish the timber and this finish is usually applied after tung oil had been applied to the surface. Tung oil penetrates and waterproofs the timber. The spirit wax then fills the grain and gives a smooth even lustre once it has been buffed.
Spirit based wax is generally a combination of soft and hard waxes. The soft waxes allow easy removal of scratches and marks whilst the harder waxes improve resistance to spills. Such finishes are often used on dance floors as they give a faster finish.

Remember
• Thicker applications of spirit based wax give less gloss and greater slip resistance. Minimum applications give a higher gloss and less slip resistance.
• Floors treated in this manner have a natural mellow appearance and are easily repaired and maintained. A floor treated with spirit based wax can be maintained with a hot damp mop with dust mopping to reduce harmful grit and burnishing as required to maintain the gloss and lustre. Soft pads are used to remove marks and scratches and maintain the floor.

Water based finishes
Timber floors treated with water based or polyurethane finishes require very little maintenance. They should be dust mopped regularly and mopped with a neutral detergent adhering all the time to the recommended dilution rates.This will maintain the gloss.
There are waterbased sealers that can be used as a sacrificial wear layer. Such sealers can also be used to repair wear and scratching and restore the gloss.
About the author: Bill Barber is the Technical Support Manager for Research Products and Citrus Resources.
They manufacture a full range of products of suitable for the cleaning,maintenance and sealing of terrazzo floors Phone: 1800 801 919