Strip and wax, scrub and recoat, burnishing, tile and grout, and polished concrete. The work that decides whether your floor gets refinished or replaced.
What we do
Strip and wax (VCT and vinyl). Every layer of old finish chemically stripped, floor neutralized and rinsed, then four to five coats of new commercial finish laid down with dry time between each. This is the full reset, and it’s what a floor that’s been neglected needs.
Scrub and recoat. Top layers of finish machine-scrubbed off and one or two fresh coats applied. Faster and cheaper than a full strip, and it works if you catch the floor before the finish is worn through to the tile. Most buildings should be doing this between strips.
Burnishing. High-speed polishing that brings up gloss and hardens the finish surface. On a monthly or quarterly cycle it stretches the interval between recoats considerably.
Machine scrubbing. Auto-scrubber pass for sealed concrete, warehouse floors, and any large hard surface that needs soil removal without refinishing.
Tile and grout. Grout lines are porous and hold soil that mopping just redistributes. Pressurized cleaning pulls it out. Sealing afterward keeps it out.
Polished and sealed concrete. Cleaned and maintained without the chemicals that dull a polished surface.
Hardwood. Cleaning and restoration by request. Commercial hardwood is specialty work; tell us what you have on the walkthrough.
How to tell which one you need
Look at your traffic lanes against the edges of the room.
If the lanes are duller than the edges but you can still see finish on both, you need a scrub and recoat, and you should book it before it gets worse.
If the lanes have gone back to bare tile (you can see the difference in color, not just the shine), the finish is gone and you need a full strip and wax.
If the floor is uniformly glossy and just looks tired, burnishing may be all it needs.
Booking a strip and wax when a recoat would do costs you money. Booking a recoat when the finish is already gone means you pay twice, because the new coat has nothing to bond to.
The Central Oregon part
Two things make hard floor care different here.
Winter traction material. The City of Bend spreads crushed basalt and ODOT uses red cinders for winter traction, and it stays on the ground until the spring sweep. Every one of those particles that reaches your floor is abrasive under a shoe. Buildings here go through floor finish faster than they would in a wetter climate, and the traffic-lane wear shows up first at entries.
Fine volcanic dust year-round. Pumice dust is fine enough to stay suspended and settle continuously. It dulls a burnished finish faster than typical dust.
The practical answer is entry matting, a burnishing cycle that keeps the top of the finish hard, and a recoat before the wear reaches the tile. That sequence is much cheaper than the strip you’ll need if you skip it.
Proof
The Redmond childcare center VCT in our gallery is a full strip and wax on a floor that had been mopped for years and never refinished. See the before and after.
FAQ
How long does a strip and wax take?
Depends on square footage and how many coats. A typical small commercial space is an overnight job. Larger floors run across a weekend. Finish needs dry time between coats and it can’t be rushed without ruining the result.
Can you do it while we’re open?
No. Stripping involves chemicals and standing water, and fresh finish needs uninterrupted dry time. This is after-hours or weekend work.
How often does VCT need stripping?
Usually annually in a normal commercial building, with scrub and recoat and burnishing in between. High-traffic buildings and anywhere with heavy winter grit tracking may need it more often.
What if my floor has never been refinished?
It’ll take more work the first time and it may not come back all the way. Years of embedded soil and existing scratches don’t strip out. We’ll tell you honestly what to expect before we quote it.
Do you seal grout?
Yes, on request after cleaning. Sealed grout stays clean substantially longer and it’s the difference between cleaning grout once and cleaning it every year.
Related
Carpet cleaning · Warehouse cleaning · Schools and daycares · Our work
Book a walkthrough
Half an hour at your building gets you a room-by-room written scope and a flat price. No cost, no obligation.
Book a WalkthroughCall 541-604-7272
Serving Bend, Redmond, Sunriver, Prineville, Sisters, La Pine, Terrebonne and Tumalo.