Vinyl floor restoration
Floor Strip and Seal in Melbourne
A floor strip and seal takes a worn, grey or patchy vinyl floor back to a clean, even finish. The old sealer and the dirt trapped in it are stripped off, the floor is deep cleaned and neutralised, and fresh coats of sealer go down, usually overnight or across a weekend so nobody walks on it too soon. This page is for facility managers, business owners and property managers looking after commercial vinyl. It is one part of our floor polishing and floor care service in Melbourne.
What it does
What does a floor strip and seal actually do?
A floor strip and seal removes the worn protective finish from a vinyl floor, together with the dirt ground into it, and replaces it with new layers of sealer. The result is a floor that looks even again, is easier to keep clean, and is protected against the next round of traffic.
Commercial vinyl is sold with a factory surface, but in busy spaces it is protected by an applied sealer, a hard acrylic layer that takes the scuffs so the vinyl doesn't. Over months of foot traffic and mopping, that layer thins in the traffic lanes, builds up at the edges where the mop never reaches, and yellows or greys as dirt is sealed into each new maintenance coat.
Polishing can only work with what is there. Once the finish is patchy or has worn through, buffing it brings up a shine on some areas and exposes the gaps in others. Stripping and sealing floors starts again from the vinyl itself, so the new finish is even from wall to wall.
Linoleum deserves a note of its own. It looks like vinyl but is made from natural materials that high-alkaline strippers can damage, so we use a stripper made for lino, a softer pad and a gentler approach throughout, followed by a sealer that suits natural flooring. If you are not sure which you have, a quick look at the back of an offcut or the edge of a tile usually settles it.
It is also a hygiene reset. Sealer that has been layered over grime for years holds that grime; stripping takes it all away in one go, which is why kitchens, staff rooms and other hard-working areas often look dramatically better afterwards rather than just shinier.
Floors that suit a strip and seal
- Commercial sheet vinyl and vinyl tiles
- Vinyl composition tiles in corridors and back rooms
- Linoleum, with a lino-safe stripper
- Some sealed concrete and stone, checked first
Floors that don't
- Safety vinyl made to be cleaned, not sealed
- Laminate and hybrid planks
- Timber, which has its own recoating process
- Mechanically polished concrete without a coating
The process
How is vinyl floor stripping and sealing done?
In six steps: prepare the area, apply stripper, scrub the old finish off with a machine, pick up the slurry and rinse, neutralise the floor, then apply thin coats of sealer, each allowed to dry before the next. Skipping the rinse or neutralising is the most common reason a new seal fails early.
- PrepareFurniture out, edges and skirtings protected, signs and barriers up, and the floor dust mopped so the stripper works on the finish rather than loose grit.
- Apply stripperA stripping solution is spread evenly and left to soften the old sealer. It is kept wet, because stripper that dries on the floor stops working.
- ScrubThe softened finish is lifted by the floor machine running a coarse stripping pad. Edges and corners, where old sealer builds up, are done by hand.
- Pick up and rinseThe slurry is lifted with a wet vacuum, then the floor is rinsed with clean water until no residue or old sealer is left behind.
- NeutraliseStrippers are strongly alkaline. A neutralising rinse brings the surface back to a state where new sealer can bond properly.
- SealThin, even coats of sealer are applied with a clean applicator, usually three to five, each dry before the next goes on.
Thin coats beat thick ones every time. A heavy coat stays soft underneath, marks easily and can peel; several thin coats dry hard and even. We finish a little short of the walls on the last coat or two, because edges get almost no traffic and extra sealer there just yellows over time.
Safety runs through every step. Floor strippers are strong alkaline chemicals, so crews wear gloves and eye protection, keep the area ventilated and follow the product's safety data sheet, which we can give you before the job. A stripped floor is also extremely slippery while wet, so the room stays closed and signed until it is dry, in line with WorkSafe Victoria's advice on preventing slips, trips and falls.
Downtime and drying
How long is the floor out of action?
For a typical commercial room, the floor is closed from the evening until the next morning. Light foot traffic can usually return a few hours after the last coat, furniture the following day, and the finish keeps hardening for several days, during which it should only be dust mopped, not wet mopped.
A typical night for a mid-sized roomExample only; timings depend on area, product and conditions
- Close offFurniture out, signs up, dust mop
- StripStripper applied and left to work
- Scrub and rinseOld finish off, slurry lifted
- NeutraliseRinsed, dried and checked
- CoatsThin coats, each left to dry
- Light trafficFloor open; furniture later
Drying and curing are not the same thing. Each coat is dry to the touch fairly quickly, which is what lets the next one go on the same night. Curing, when the sealer reaches its full hardness, takes days. During that time the floor looks finished but is still vulnerable to heavy furniture dragged across it, rubber-backed mats and wet mopping.
Temperature and airflow change everything. A cold, damp night in a Melbourne winter slows drying; a warm, ventilated space speeds it up. We check the conditions on the night and adjust the gaps between coats rather than sticking to a fixed timetable.
After the job
- Walk on it gently the next morning
- Lift furniture back in, don't drag it
- Dust mop only for the first few days
- Keep rubber-backed mats off until cured
- Then use a neutral floor cleaner
How often
How often do floors need stripping and sealing?
On busy commercial vinyl, expect to strip and reseal roughly once every twelve to twenty-four months, and far less often on quiet floors. What stretches the gap is regular burnishing and top-up coats in between, which keep the finish in good shape and push the next strip further away.
| Traffic | Example spaces | Burnish or scrub | Full strip and seal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy | Shop entries, food courts, main corridors | Every few weeks | About yearly |
| Medium | Staff rooms, offices with vinyl, back of house | Every couple of months | Every one to two years |
| Light | Storerooms, meeting rooms, quiet suites | A few times a year | Every few years |
These are starting points, not rules. Grit, water and the cleaning products used daily all speed up wear. A strip and seal on a floor that is mopped with a strong degreaser every night won't last as long as one looked after with a neutral cleaner. We leave simple care notes with every job so the finish lasts.
What about spaces that never close? A shop or food area open seven days can still be done. We split the floor into sections, barrier off one at a time, and work through them over consecutive nights so there is always a clear path for staff and customers. It takes more nights, but nobody has to shut the doors.
New vinyl is a special case. On a new build or fitout, sealing it once the dust has gone protects it from day one. We can add it to the final clean in our builders cleaning service, so the floor is handed over sealed rather than bare.
Pricing
How do you get a quote for floor stripping and sealing in Melbourne?
Send the floor area, a few photos of the worst areas and the whole room, and the nights or weekend when the space can be closed. Price is driven mainly by area, how much old sealer has built up, furniture to move and how many coats the floor needs.
- Photos and areaClose-ups of worn lanes and edges, a wide shot, and the size in square metres.
- Closure windowWhich nights or weekend the room can be empty, and when people need it back.
- Fixed priceA written scope with the number of coats, what is moved and when the floor reopens.
Old, heavily built-up floors take longer to strip than floors that have been maintained, so a floor last done ten years ago will cost more per square metre than one done last year. For typical figures, see strip and seal and floor polishing costs. When you are ready, request a strip and seal quote.
Questions
What else do people ask about strip and seal?
The three things facility managers check before they book a night, answered in plain terms.
How long before we can walk on it?
How often should we book a strip and seal?
Which floors can be stripped and sealed?
Ready to give the floor a fresh start?
Send photos, the area and when the room can be closed. We will come back with the number of coats, the timing and a fixed price.