saltillo made easy

[mccool]

I am going to rent a house full of 13 year old saltillo. No one knows what is on the floor at this time as far as sealers go. I want the floor to look shiny and feel clean by putting something on it. Can you put polyurethane like for a wood floor on it to make it shiny? I need to be cheap and easy because it is about 2000sf. Is there anything I can just mop on after I clean it with water and a cleaner of some type? Since it is not my house I am not allowed to strip it. Thank you so much in advance for your help :shrug:

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[Davestone]

Give us a name to call you, okay.Believe me, them not letting you strip it is the best thing that can happen to you.Don't even get me started on the horrors of stripping saltillo....Now,There is a product made to give saltillo sealer a sheen, and go over existing sealer,i wouldn't use polyurethane, it tends to scratch up and is a nightmare to redo,and strip,this sealer is water based and a simple cleaning(with an alkaline cleaner)even Pine Sol, will strip it away and you start fresh,Top coat, or Sparks internacional finish.

[az]

Mccool,

I would not recommend you touch this floor. You may be held liable if you put something on it that does not "like" whatever is already on it. I also recommend a thorough professional cleaning before applying ANY top coating.

That being said, this is a DYI forum, so here goes. I cannot and WILL NOT be held liable for any of this bad information I am about to give you! Rent a buffer, you will need a soft brush head with the buffer. Buy a neutral cleaner (from your local tile supply shop). Scrub the floor with the buffer/brush head and the cleaner, flushing often with water and sucking up the dirty stuff with a shop vac. Continue this in small sections, doing the edges and grout lines with a hand brush, untill you complete the whole floor. (Whatever you don't get out will be forever sealed into whatever finish you put over it.) Then wait two days for it to dry, use fans and turn up the thermostat. When you see the floor is completely dry, you can "top coat" with a sealer/finish. You can find one at home depot in the janitorial section, at your local tile supply house, or other janitorial supply. Just make sure it is water based and strippable. Hillyard's 341 is an easy one to use, as well as Aldon chem's Lifegaurd. In Home depot you will see (I think) Zep's "floor finish". This will work too.

Test in a small area before applying the finish on the whole floor. Make sure you get a smooth application with no "pooling" or patchy oil slick look. Use a synthetic finish mop, and thin coats. Be sure to allow at least 45 minutes between coats.

That is the simple version. You still want to do it?

Feel free to ask anything else, and good luck.