[craigp]

Hi,

I have a slate floor to strip and seal. It has a topical sealer, I would normally strip with stripper and rotory with a black pad. But this is an uneven, bumpy slate tiles so I dont think I can get the rotary on it only the SX-12, so how can I strip?

Also whats a good topical sealer for slate?

Tips welcome, thanks.
Craig

[Michael Smallwood]

A stiff nylon bristle on your rotary and an extraction pickup to remove the slurry from the dips should work. Just allow enough dwell time for the stripper to work, without it drying.

Cheers

Mike

[Cathedral Floorcare]

Apologies if I'm stating the obvious, but some slate can be quite soft and is easy to scratch, so I'd make sure you don't have too hard a pad/brush on. Your stripper should be doing all the work on a topical sealer - give it enough dwell time and it should mainly rinse off.  And the best topical sealers for slate are Aquamix in my opinion - Seal and Finish Low Sheen or High Gloss Sealer, depending on the finish you want. Hope that helps,

Chris

[craigp]

thanks for the help.

Noted that you say the stripper should do most of the work, I must have rubbish stripper as I find it takes alot of scrubbing.

I'm using 'Zip-Strip' a low odour one.

Is their a better one to use?

Craig

[Steve. Taylor]

selden do a good 1 forget the name have a look on the site selden

[peter maybury]

butchers ironstone is the best seal that I have come across for slate, expensive but good and longer lasting than most.
with the stripper, one that does the job properly will be far more suitable than a low odour product.
If you have a large distributor near you, they will probably find somebody who is educated enough to give you good advise on compatable products. My local distributor does their own brand products and their strippers are comparable to brands costing twice the price. A good stripper will do most of the work but scrubbing with a brush will get into the indents. You have to keep the floor wet and keep moving the stripper around for at least 10 minutes.
There are also rinse free option which if there is a slight residue left will not react with the stripper. Rinsing however is a very important part of the process. If you have not had much experience with slate floors you will be ( and your customer) Impressed with the results if you use the right chemicals. A brush head for your rotary would also make a sound investment.

Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com

[craigp]

Many thanks thats great info.

Craig