Why floors need it
VCT (vinyl composition tile) is porous and dull on its own, so it's protected with layers of floor finish, usually called "wax." Traffic scratches the finish, dirt gets trapped between layers, and over time it yellows or gets patchy. When burnishing doesn't bring it back, it's time to strip.
The steps
- Prep. Clear the room, protect baseboards and walls, set up signs, and dust mop.
- Apply stripper. Spread it evenly and let it dwell. The dwell time is the point. Rushing it means scrubbing twice as hard.
- Scrub. A floor machine with a stripping pad on the open floor. Edges and corners get done by hand or with an edging tool. Skipped edges are the most common sign of a rushed job.
- Pick up the slurry. Wet-vacuum or mop it up thoroughly.
- Rinse, maybe twice. Leftover stripper is your enemy.
- Neutralize. Stripper is strongly alkaline. A neutralizing rinse brings the floor back toward neutral so new finish bonds properly. If you skip this, you get hazing, powdering or peeling.
- Let it dry completely.
- Lay finish in thin coats. Usually several, letting each dry before the next. Thin coats dry harder and clearer.
- Cure. Keep traffic light while the finish hardens. Then burnish if the product calls for it.
Questions to ask whoever you hire
- Do you neutralize after stripping?
- How many coats of finish are included?
- How do you handle edges and corners?
- When can people walk on it, and when can furniture go back?
Keeping it longer
Daily dust mopping, entry mats, regular burnishing, and a scrub-and-recoat when it's needed can stretch the time between full strips quite a bit. See maintenance plans.