Advances in Gloss Levels Enhance Polish-free Stone Floor Maintenance

As the relatively new concept of stone floor maintenance, using diamond impregnated floor pads, has gathered momentum in recent times, some of the shortcomings of the concept have become apparent.

Not that the concept is riddled with shortcomings.  It is not.  Rather, it is an incredibly effective and reduced-cost method compared to the old-fashioned use of superficial polishes on stone floors, polishes that rack up very high maintenance costs.

However, one aspect that has, up to now, provided a reason for building owners to reject the system has been the inability to produce the gloss of newly laid polish.  And property owners and managers have been prepared to forgo the maintenance cost savings in favour of appearance.  Not that this is a true reflection of the comparison between the two systems.

Comparing a diamond pad maintained floor with newly laid polish disregards the fact  that polish gloss levels constantly decline from that of newly laid polish until highly labour intensive methods have to be invoked to try to get the floor back to an acceptable gloss level.  This happens as often as monthly and seldom beyond three months in high traffic areas.  Unfortunately the building managers tend to only compare at the time of newly laying polish.  Consequently, when that is the case,  results tend to be skewed in favour of polish.

However, a major manufacturer of  diamond  floor maintenance pads has recognized that ultimate gloss is a requirement, as important as the savings in moving to diamond pads  in the first place.  They manufacturer set out to adjust the pads and their system so that the gloss of newly laid polish can be obtained and maintained without resorting to those expensive maintenance methods required for polish nor to having to use some form of superficial surface coating (polish) to get the gloss.

This has been achieved and exceptional results obtained.  The basic  methodology  in preparing the floor ,   using more aggressive diamond pads, remains but once that has been done, maintenance can be carried out quickly and inexpensively with a dry burnish with an Ultra High Speed floor burnisher or,  at worst, using a little water. No harsh chemicals are necessary at all.  It  is the incredibly effective , newly developed,6000 grit diamond  impregnated floor machine pads that result in the exceptional gloss level, as good as newly laid polish and maintained at that level day after day after day without declining , which is more than can be said for polish

What is even more revealing is the result of slip tests performed in a high-traffic shopping centre environment where the result is that diamond maintained floors, with a higher gloss level than polished floors , also produced better slip co-efficients  than did polish-applied floors.

There is no polish to strip and re-seal  or to cut-back and re-apply.  And that is essentially where the heavy expense is focused.  It is that saving that results in maintenance savings of as much as 38%  of the cost of polish maintenance but now with the added benefit of an excellent gloss level.

Diamond impregnated pads , where the right combination of grits are available, can now produce results that have it all.

Article written by Gerry Goldberg,  Director, Pall Mall Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd