what sealant for vinyl tile floor? How?

15 years ago

I tiled the kitchen floor in a great checkerboard on the diagonal - and now I can't keep it polished or clean! I used the polish/sealant recommended by the store, but it wears off very quickly and then the tiles hold the dirt and stain. I can make them clean again with Soft Scrub bleach cleanser; then I have to rinse and rinse to get the residue off.

I never get a real thick good looking gloss built up.

I chose these tiles because they hold up in hospitals and supermarkets and look very good when polished - so they could hold up to four kids, right? (wrong) What do I need, a giant buffer every Sunday night after closing?

Also I need to replace some tiles with holes in them (done by 'Nobody'). I don't want to chip neighboring tiles when lifting them. What's the best way to go about that.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

brutuses
15 years ago
Unfortunately, you will need some heavy duty wax and a buffer to keep a shine on them. Those tiles are very high maintenance, I'm sorry to say. As far as I know there isn't a "sealent" you can use, only paste wax.
glennsfc
15 years ago
All sealants for vinyl tile are sacrificial coatings...they are designed to be removed by use or dissolved off by the appropriate chemical solution and then reapplied.

Armstrong Shinekeeper is about the best self-polishing floor dressing that you can use to keep your floor looking good. When the floor becomes worn looking in the most used areas, you simply clean with Armstrong Once and Done and then reapply Shinekeeper to those worn areas. Pretty simple and easy.
Related Professionals
Ahwatukee Flooring Contractors · Brooklyn Park Flooring Contractors · East Brunswick Flooring Contractors · Federal Way Flooring Contractors · Huntington Station Flooring Contractors · Little Rock Flooring Contractors · South Holland Tile and Stone Contractors · Homewood General Contractors · Klahanie General Contractors · Mashpee General Contractors · North Smithfield General Contractors · Rossmoor General Contractors · Saginaw General Contractors · Seal Beach General Contractors · View Park-Windsor Hills General Contractors
debo_2006
15 years ago
You're not gonna like my post, but it's my experience living with the same floor for a long time. I have to agree with Brutuses post.

When we moved into our house 16 years ago, there was the black and white vinyl stick tiles - we just got rid of that floor a year ago. I HATED THAT FLOOR!! It was a bear to keep clean and showed everything on it, especially dust on the black tiles and every imagineable dirt spec on the white. And once you wax it, you're in for a real treat. The wax wears off unevenly in no time, and then you have to strip it to rewax it the next time you clean the floor. If you continue to wax over wax, it will look nasty. The floor looks gorgeous for only a short time after a good cleaning and fresh wax though.

While we received compliments all the time, those people didn't have to live with it.

Sorry to be so negitative but I would never recommend this floor to anyone - not even if it was ceramic tile. Good luck with it though.
birdgardner
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks. (((arrggh - I was afraid of that.))) I can't believe all the magazines talking about the new vinyl floors. High design! But not High Maintenance.

I will try the Armstrong products.
Dee
7 years ago
My Armstrong vinyl tile floors have held up beautifully for 25 years. Have begun to need to rewax/seal so trash will sweep off. Never had kids on it but used cool rugs in places of heavy traffic. If I replace it, it will be with the same thing.