MY VCT Tile turn white when wet

[tnewman]

I’m new to this forum so here it goes.

Ok guys, after reading your posts and seeing all the **** pictures of the VCT floors, I had to have one. I wanted everything to be perfect, so I rented a concrete grinder and went over the floor with it to make it perfectly smooth… I ordered the VCT and went for it, and IT looks pretty dang good in my opinion. I put on three coats of the Armstrong S-495 Commercial Floor Sealer (Had to order it off the Internet because I couldn’t find it at one of the big box stores). I then applied 5 coats of the Henry FloorShield High Gloss Floor Polish. I then rented a buffer and went over my tiles with a white pad to make them shine even more…

Now my Problem:
The tiles are turning white (milkey lookin) and a little yellow when I pull the car in and the tires are wet and or the AC is dripping on the floor. Someone please tell me what the deal is. I don’t want to have to put down one of those rubber mats to cover my new beautiful floor and cover up all my hard work. If I rub a little polish over the area it makes it look a little better, but not perfect… Winter will be here before you know it, is my floor going to look awful?

Thanks,
Ted

 

[SteveB]

The "white" you describe disappears on my VCT when the water dries.

 

[sasquatchpa]

water based wax turns white and softens when exposed to water. Buffing it will help some, but, will not stop the problem. I went through college on the work-as-a-janitor plan.

 

[tnewman]

So what you are telling me is I used the wrong kind of wax? Is there a better wax that you could recommend that would leave me with a floor that won't get all milkey on me when it's wet?

 

[AlphaGarage]

That's one of the reason why some of protective coatings contractors are using Wolverine's BondTite 1101 as a VCT clear coat. Plus you don't need to wax it all the time.

On some jobs if the VCT is old and nasty looking, but still sound and holding down well, they just install the full Monty... BondTite, LiquaTile, and a clear coat od BondTite or EnduraShield. No need to pull up the old VCT and deal with removing the adhesive.

 

[tnewman]

So what you are telling me is I used the wrong kind of wax? Is there a better wax that you could recommend that would leave me with a floor that won't get all milkey on me when it's wet?

or do I need to buy this Wolverine stuff to seal them, and how much is that going to costs me?

 

[AlphaGarage]

No need to apply BondTite, regular waxing with the occasional stripping and waxing seems to work for most vct owners. If you'd rather coat it once for years and years, help seal it against spilled liquids getting under the tiles (one of the main reasons tiles come up), and protect the vct against abrasion, chips and dings, then yeah - you could Bondtite it. Plenty of store, food prep facilities, manufacturing floors, garages, and other floors have done so.

How large is the area?

 

[tnewman]

it's around 450 sq feet...

 

[AlphaGarage]

450 ft2 - if the floor is seeing relatively light punishment - 5 mils will do. Figure about 1.5 gallons, which would be two 3 quart kits, @ $75, or $150.

The BondTite could color shift, especially with UV light. A clear coat of EnduraShield will limit the yellowing. It's also harder and more durable. 450 ft would require a 1.25 gallon kit - $195.

The finished sealed floor will not require constant waxing and buffing, will resist most chemical spills, and handle dropped tools, floor jacks etc.

You would need to thoroughly strip off the current coating, either by chemical or scrubber w 60 grit pad/screen.