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Abrasion
The action of wearing away floor finish film by
friction. Usually caused by particulate soil such as sand, silt, clay,
ice melter and dust.
Abrasion
Resistance
The ability of a floor coating to resist
being worn away by rubbing or friction. Abrasion resistance is not necessarily
related to the hardness of a coating but is more correctly correlated
to toughness.
Acrylic
The most common polymer component of all floor
finishes. Acrylics offer good detergent resistance and produce colorless
films. They are a family of thermoplastic resins of acrylic esters [CH2CHCOOR]
or methacrylic esters [CH2C(CH3)COOR].
Adhesion
The attraction of a coating to a substrate
(floor). Also referred to as the "outward force" of a coating.
Alkaline
Any substance that has pH greater than 9.
Alkaline
Cleaner
A cleaner
that has a pH higher than 9. This would include all purpose cleaners,
degreasers and strippers.
Alkaline
Residue
A white powdery residue that is left on the
floor after using a highly alkaline stripper and not rinsing. It can
be observed by running your hand over the floor surface.
All
Purpose Cleaner
Mildly alkaline
cleaners that can be used on almost any hard surface and usually will
not harm the surface or finish.
Amine
Common class of chemicals that are used in
strippers and many heavy-duty cleaners. Strippers of years past used
ammonia as an amine source. Modern day strippers use MEA (Monoethanolamine),
often referred to as odorless ammonia.
Anti-Slip
The property of a floor finish that makes
a floor non-slip.
ASTM
American Society for Testing and Materials.
To view the ASTM web site, click
here.
Auto-Scrubber
A machine that has two compartments, one for
a cleaning solution and the other for recovering soiled solution. As
the cleaning solution is applied to the floor, rotating brushes or pads
scrub the surface and the soiled solution is picked up at the back of
the machine with the use of a self-contained vacuum system.
Blushing
The formation of a white or grayish cast in
a finish during drying. Most often caused by one or more of the following:
excessive humidity, improper dry time, overly heavy coats or more coats
than recommended on the label.
Buffable
Finish
A finish that can be repaired or made to have
a higher gloss by use of a buffing machine. Typically the machine will
have speeds of 175-2000 RPM.
Buildup
Refers to areas of a floor (edges if
isle ways or rooms) where the finish does not wear down, but successive
coats are applied. Often times these areas take on a darker appearance.
Burnishing
Similar to buffing except the machines used
have speeds in excess of 2000 RPM and can be either electric or propane
powered.
Caustic
(n)
Any strong alkaline material which has a corrosive
effect on living tissue and soft metals.
Chemical
Resistance
The property of a floor finish that allows
it to be unaffected by chemicals that are spilled onto it.
Clarity
The clearness of a liquid product or film.
Coalescing
Agent
Solvents (usually glycol ethers) that help
in the film formation of finish. These solvents evaporate during the
drying process.
Coefficient
of Friction
See Slip Resistance.
Cohesion
The attraction of a coating to itself. Also
referred to as the "inward force" of a coating.
Compatible
Capable of being used together in a product
and having no undesirable effects.
Concrete
Concrete is a mixture of Portland cement,
sand and crushed stone or gravel that is made into a paste with water.
Concrete
Seal
A protective coating applied to a new or old
concrete floor to harden, seal and reduce dusting.
Conductive
Floor Finish
A finish that has the ability to take
static charges and dissipate them. Also referred to as static dissipative
finish or antistatic finish.
Copolymer
A polymer made from two or more monomers.
Cotton
Mop
A type of mop head that has high absorbency
and is used for wet or damp mopping. Cotton mops are NOT recommended
for laying floor finish.
Coverage
Measured in square feet per gallon (or square
meters per liter), it is a measurement of how much area a gallon of
product will cover.
Crazing
The appearance of very fine cracks on the
surface of a dried finish film.
Curing
A term generally applied to the time a floor
coating takes to completely dry and reach full hardness. All coatings
have varying cure rates.
Detergent
Cleaning solutions that consist of
water and one or more of the following ingredients: Surfactants, builders,
solvents, chelating agents and soap.
Detergent
Resistance
The ability of a floor finish to withstand
deterioration when cleaned with a detergent solution.
Dirt
Retention
A finish has high dirt retention when soil
from foot traffic becomes embedded into the finish easily and quickly.
Discoloration
The tendency of a floor finish to darken or
yellow.
Disinfection
The removal or destruction of pathogens
from inanimate objects. Nonpathogenic environmental organisms may not
be completely eliminated through disinfection.
Dri-Brite
A type of finish that dries to a high shine
without the need for buffing.
Dry Time
The length of time it takes a finish
to become tack free, thereby allowing another coat of finish to be applied.
Durability
The ability of a floor finish to withstand
wear.
Emulsion
A mixture of liquids that are incompatible,
such as water and oil. One of the components will form small droplets
in the other with the help of detergents. These systems are usually
cloudy or opaque in appearance.
Film
A thin covering or coating.
Finish
A coating that protects a floor from wear
and enhances its appearance.
Flexibility
The ability of a floor finish to be pliable
and resilient.
Floor
Machine
Can be used to describe any number of machines
that are power driven and are used to either clean (auto-scrubber) or
increase the gloss of the finish (burnishing machine).
Gloss
(Depth)
An optical phenomenon of relative gloss
perceived when viewing reflective surfaces. This is a qualitative evaluation.
Gloss
(Specular)
A quantitative measurement used to show how
shiny a surface or film is. The higher the number, the better the gloss.
Gloss
Meter
A device used to quantify how much gloss a
surface has at various angles. Inside the device, a light is emitted
onto a surface that measures how much light is reflected back. The higher
the number, the better the gloss.
Grout
Concrete or similar substance used between
ceramic, slate and quarry tiles.
Hard
Water
Water, which contains the ions of magnesium and
calcium. When hard water is used in a cleaning system, insoluble materials
may form. This is called a precipitate. Hard water is usually expressed
in parts per million or grains. 1 grain hard water = 18 PPM hard water.
Hardwood
Floor
A floor made of any number of species
of wood including maple, oak and beech.
Heeling
The practice of tilting a floor machine to
exert increased pressure on a specific area of a floor.
High
Speed
A range of floor machines which have speeds
between 500 - 1500 RPM's.
Humidity
The measure of moisture in the air.
James
Machine
A machine
that measures the static coefficient of friction of a floor finish.
This is the measure of how slip resistant a finish is. Also known as
ASTM test method D2047. The sufficient James Machine reading to indicate
slip resistance is 0.5 or greater.
Leveling
The ability of a floor finish to be completely
flat when dry. If mop marks are evident in a dry finish, it is a sign
of poor leveling.
Linoleum
Flooring
Linoleum flooring normally is found in sheets
and is made of oxidized linseed oil or a combination of drying oils,
wood flour and/or ground cork, resins and pigments.
Marble
Flooring
Marble is formed from limestone that
has been subjected to great heat and pressure in the Earth's crust.
It consists chiefly of calcite or dolomite, or a combination of these
carbonate minerals. It can be scratched easily and is very sensitive
to strong acids or strong bases (alkali).
Metal-Interlock
The process of bonding two polymer particles
together using a metal ion such as zinc. This is also known as cross-linking.
Mill
Finish
The factory finish that is spray-applied to
new tiles to protect them from damage.
Monomer
A simple compound (i.e. methyl methylacrylate)
that can react and form a polymer. Monomers can react with themselves
to make a homopolymer (i.e. polyethylene) or react with different monomers
to form something more complex called a copolymer.
Mop
Drag
Resistance felt when pulling a mop
across a floor. Drag felt when recoating a finish usually is a sign
of applying the finish too early.
M.
S. D. S.
Material Safety Data Sheet. Required for all
products. It lists hazardous ingredients for particular compound and
also details safety precautions and first aid information.
Neutral
Neither acid nor alkaline. Neutral generally
means pH in the 5.0 to 9.0 range, but true neutral is pH 7.0.
Neutral
Cleaner
A cleaning product that has a pH near 7.0.
They are recommended for daily use on finished floors or alkaline sensitive
floors like marble because of their non-harmful effects on the finish
or flooring.
Neutralize
To change the pH of a substance to 7. Either
raising the pH of an acid or lowering that of a base.
Non-Buff
Finish
Refers to harder finishes that do not respond
well to buffing or burnishing, but may respond to spray buffing.
Non-Volatile
Solids
Measured in percentage, they are the materials
that are left when all water and other solvents are driven off a coating
during drying. In a floor finish, the solids are what forms the film
on the floor.
Optical
Brighteners
A substance that absorbs UV light sources
and emits only visible light, which gives a brightening effect.
Peeling
The pulling away of a coating from its substrate
caused by a lack of adhesion.
pH
The measure of hydroxyl (OH-) or hydrogen
(H+) ions in a solution. Acids contain varying levels of hydrogen ions,
bases contain hydroxyl ions. A pH of 7 is neutral, but for cleaning
purposes, a pH of 5-9 is considered to be in the “neutral”
range. Below 5 is acidic and greater than 9 is alkaline.
Plasticizer
Special solvents that help in the good film
formation of a floor finish. These solvents stay in the film when the
finish is completely dried which allows the film and remain flexible.
Polyethylene
Wax
A type of polymer that is added to floor finishes,
usually in small amounts, to impart certain properties. For example,
hard waxes can improve black heel mark resistance but often reduce slip
resistance. Soft waxes improve buffability and slip resistance but decreases
heel mark resistance. Polyethylene is made by polymerizing the gas ethylene
(C2H4).
Polymer
A very large molecule that is made of smaller
units called monomers. In acrylic floor finishes, it is an acrylic or
acrylic/styrene polymer that eventually forms the film.
Polyurethane
A large family of polymers often used
in floor coatings because urethane films can provide greater hardness
without brittleness than is possible with most other polymers. They
also have good chemical resistance combined with good adhesion. Aliphatic
urethanes (water-based) are made by reacting organic isocyanate with
compounds containing a hydroxyl (OH) group.
Powdering
The disintegration of a finish that results
in a fine powdery substance. Poor bonding (adhesion) of the finish to
the substrate (floor) is a major cause. It can also occur during burnishing
when a finish is not fully cured or when an improper or poorly maintained
polishing pad is used.
Rayon
Blend Mop
Refers to the type of yarn used in producing
the mop and is the preferred one for applying finish.
Recoat
The process of applying multiple coats of
floor finishes over one another to increase the appearance and protection
of the flooring.
Repairability
The ability of a floor finish to return to
its original appearance after it has deteriorated from wear. Usually
accomplished through deep cleaning and buffing or burnishing.
Resilient
Flooring
A term used to describe flooring that is not
considered hard floor surfaces (stone our poured floors). Includes,
but not limited to, vinyl, vinyl composition, linoleum and rubber.
Restorer
A chemical product that is either mopped,
auto-scrubbed or sprayed on a floor finish and then is buffed or burnished
to enhance appearance and increase slip resistance.
Scuff
Marks
Occur when a person walks without lifting
their feet. A finish that is hard to scuff is said to have good scuff
resistance.
Sealers
Coatings that are designed to fill in pores
of a substrate quickly and more efficiently than a finish would.
Shelf Life
The length of time an unopened product will
remain unchanged in its container after packaging.
Slip
Resistance
The frictional force opposing movement of
an object across a surface. In the floor finish industry, this usually
refers to how easily the heel or sole of a shoe slides across a finish.
A value of 0.5 or greater using the ASTM D2047 method is considered
safe for walking on.
Solution
A single, homogenous liquid that is a mixture
in which the components are uniformly distributed throughout.
Spray
Buffing
A buffing program that involves the spraying
of a cleaner/restorer solution onto the floor then going over the wet
areas with a buffing or burnishing machine.
Stripper
Chemical solutions that are designed to remove
floor finishes from the floor. They usually contain some type of solvent
that will dissolve the polymer particles thereby allowing them to be
picked up off the floor.
Styrene
A low-cost polymer that is dispersed with
acrylics and is used in many coatings. Styrene offers good detergent
resistance, low soil pick-up and low water absorption.
Surfactant
Surface active agent (surfactant) that
contains a water hating (hydrophobic) portion and a water loving (hydrophilic)
portion. Surfactants emulsify and suspend oils and dirt in solution
to keep them from re-depositing on the surface being cleaned.
Synergistic
When in
a solution, the effects of the combined individual ingredients are greater
than if they were by themselves.
Tack
Rag
A cloth moistened with a liquid or water used
to remove dust from a floor before coating.
Tackiness
Another term for describing a coating that's
sticky. Before a coating is completely dry it will go through a tacky
stage.
Thermoplastic
A type of polymer that can be reshaped when
heated and dissolves in suitable solvent. Acrylic is an example of a
thermoplastic polymer.
Thermoset
A type of polymer that is elaborately cross-linked
and three-dimensional. It decomposes upon heating and is insoluble.
Epoxy is an example of a thermoset polymer.
Total
Solids
All materials in a cleaner or finish that
remain after all water and solvents have been removed.
UL
(Underwriters Laboratories)
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent,
not-for-profit product safety testing and certification organization.
They test Essential floor care products as to their slip resistance.
Ultra
High Speed
This refers to burnishing machines that have
speeds of 2,000+ RPMs. These machines are propane, battery or electric
powered.
Urethane
See Polyurethane.
V.O.C.
Volatile Organic Compounds. This is a measure
of the non-water solvents that are in a particular product.
Vinyl
Composition Tile
See Resilient Flooring.
Viscosity
Refers to how thick or thin a product is.
Different scales are used to measure this property.
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