The Short Answer
Strip and wax a commercial floor by applying stripper to the old finish, working it with a 175 RPM buffer and a black pad, mopping up the slurry, rinsing and drying the floor, then applying the new floor finish in even coats with full drying time between coats. The strip removes the old finish, and the coats build the new one, which makes the sequence a demolition job followed by a construction job. Strip day is where the floor program is won or lost.
The machine side of the day is the buffer. A 175 RPM commercial floor machine with a black pad works the stripper into the old finish and lifts it off the VCT, and the same machine stays out of the way while the coats go down by mop. The buffer does the demolition. The mop does the construction. Two tools, two halves of the same day.
The Strip: Black Pad, Stripper, and the Buffer
The strip begins with chemistry and abrasion working together. The stripper softens the old floor finish, and the black pad on the buffer works that softened finish off the VCT in even passes. The 175 RPM machine speed matters here: fast enough to work the chemistry, slow enough to keep control of the pass. The black pad is the strip pad, and the strip pad is the only pad for this job. The old finish leaves as slurry, and the slurry is the proof the strip is working.
A commercial floor is stripped in sections, not all at once, because the stripper has to stay wet to work. Each section gets its chemistry, its buffer passes with the black pad, and its clean-up before the chemistry dries back onto the floor. Section work keeps the chemical active and the crew out of their own mess. The strip day is a series of small rooms even when the floor is one big one.
Once the old finish is slurry, it has to leave completely. The crew mops up the stripped solution, then rinses the floor so no chemical residue is left to fight the new coats, then lets the VCT dry. A floor that is not rinsed is a floor that will not hold its new finish. Residue is invisible on strip day and impossible to hide after the coats go down.
| Strip day step | Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Apply and work the stripper | Buffer with black pad | 175 RPM works the chemistry off the floor |
| Remove the slurry | Mop | The old finish has to leave completely |
| Rinse the floor | Clean water and mop | Residue fights the new finish coats |
| Dry before coating | Dry time on the schedule | Finish needs a dry, clean surface to bond |
The Wax: Coats, Drying, and the Finish Schedule
The new floor finish goes down in coats, and the schedule between them is not optional. Each coat needs its drying time before the next one goes on, because a coat laid into a wet coat streaks and never cures right. Thin, even coats with full drying between them build the durable base that the burnishing program will later shine. The finish schedule is a construction schedule, and drying time is its critical path. More thin coats beat fewer thick ones every time.
The mop returns for the construction half of the day, this time as the applicator. Finish is laid in smooth, overlapping passes so each coat reads even across the VCT, and the applicator is rinsed between coats so no dried finish drags back onto the floor. The mop that stripped in the morning applies in the afternoon, and both jobs need the same even hand. The applicator decides whether the coats look like glass or like weather.
The strip and wax day ends with a cured floor, and the commercial program picks up from there with the burnishing passes that keep the new finish glossy between strip days. The wax job builds the shine potential, and the burnisher releases it over the weeks that follow. Strip day sets up the whole cycle, and the cycle is the floor program. The wax is the bank. The burnisher makes the withdrawals.
- Strip: stripper plus buffer and black pad to lift the old finish
- Clean: mop the slurry, rinse, and dry the VCT completely
- Coat: apply the floor finish in thin, even coats by mop
- Cure: honor the drying time between coats and before traffic
What This Means for Your Operation
Strip day is a revenue day for the cleaning company that runs it properly. Stripper and a black pad on a 175 RPM buffer take the old finish off, and even coats with real drying time build the new one. Run the sequence and the floor program compounds; rush it and the rework eats the profit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you strip and wax a commercial floor?
What pad do you use to strip a floor?
How long should a floor dry between wax coats?
Reference Standards for This Category
Published standards and programs that buyers in this category are typically accountable to. Listed for context, not as an endorsement of any product on this page.