How Clean for VCT

[L+10]

Before I go overboard cleaning my garage floor for VCT I thought I'd ask: does anyone know if there is any rule of thumb to determine how far to go cleaning and degreasing the concrete prior to tiling?

The concrete is in good shape. Poured 16 years ago with almost no cracking. Some minor oil, grease, and spots of paint.

 

[thrytis]

I don't know what the rule of thumb is, but I cleaned with a degreaser once, cleaned with simple green once, and acid etched. That left a few small spots (a few square inches each) that had a noticeable amount of grease/oil. I haven't seen any signs of tiles moving, though my floor has seen very little vehicle traffic (but does have heavy woodworking equipment moved over it). If i did it again, i would clean once with simple green, scrubbing only until i got all the paint drops/spills up, and then etch. I know etching isn't supposed to be done for cleaning, but it seemed to release a lot more oil and grease then the degreaser did. You can see the condition of my floor when i started here.

Be careful if you etch though. The adhesive i used (W. W. Henry) said not to etch because of problems if the ph of the floor is not in the proper range.

 

[SteveB]

Beware of small stones and other debris sticking to your adhesive as you are laying the tiles. Its amazing how much **** can be blown onto the concrete during this stage. After about a year these items begin to work their way up to the surface and potentially can pierce through the VCT.

I had 15 year old concrete with a few 2 foot square oil patches. Lots of scrubbing with liquid dish soap and a full acid etching/rinsing, followed by a sealer seemed to do the trick.

 

[Jason B]

I don't think you need to etch from what I've been told. Here is a great guide for prep and install.

http://www.schnellauto.com/images/vct.pdf