Use and Care Manual

E. Restorative Maintenance – Stripping

NOTE: The use of aggressive strippers such as mop-on/mop-off, no-scrub and no-rinse

strippers is not recommended on tile ﬂoors less than 2 years old because these strippers

may affect the adhesive bond.

1. Mix stripping solution to the appropriate dilution, depending on ﬂoor ﬁnish

build-up. Blockade areas to be stripped. Apply liberal amounts of solution

uniformly to the ﬂoor with a mop. Let stripping solution soak for the

appropriate amount of time recommended by the stripper manufacturer.

Keep areas to be stripped wet. Rewet if necessary.

2. Machine scrub the ﬂoor (300 rpm or less) with a scrubbing pad (3M blue or

equal) or equivalent scrub brush to break up the polish ﬁlm. Do not allow

stripping solution to dry on the ﬂoor.

3. Remove dirty stripping solution with a wet vacuum or mop. TIP: Drizzling

fresh, clean rinse water onto the dirty stripping solution will assist

with a more thorough removal.

4. Thoroughly rinse the entire ﬂoor with fresh, clean water. Remove rinse water

and allow it to dry completely.

5. Apply 3 to 5 coats of high-quality commercial ﬂoor polish, such as

Armstrong

S-480 Commercial Floor Polish. The use of a high-quality

stain-resistant sealer (such as S-495 Commercial Floor Sealer) beneath the

polish should be considered in areas of high trafﬁc, areas of high soil load

and areas where staining potential is high.

Special Considerations

FEATURE TILE

™

: Feature Tile, like solid-colored ﬂoors of any composition, shows scratches and soiling

more readily than patterned materials. They have been designed for use as decorative bands, borders

and spot accent colors in combination with other Armstrong 1/8˝ Standard EXCELON

and EXCELON

Tile. Feature Tile is not suitable for use as an overall ﬂoor color and is not recommended for this use.

When ﬁrst installed, the plain-colored surface may reveal a light dusty or powdery ﬁlm and some direc-

tional surface markings. These are common to the production of this type of product, but the markings

will be eliminated with regular cleaning and polishing and they will not affect the performance of the ﬂoor.

STONETEX

: Although Stonetex presents a monolithic or solid-colored image, the speckled pattern

enables it to look better longer than Feature Tile or other non-patterned vinyl composition tile. Stonetex

may require more frequent maintenance than a typical vinyl composition tile with a more prominent

pattern.