Troubleshooting

Make sure your facility looks its absolute best. Use our troubleshooting guides to help address specific problems.

Hard Floor Care Troubleshooting Guide

Poor Gloss

Not enough finish on floor
Scrub and rinse floor, apply finish

Not enough time between coats
Wait 30-40 minutes between coats

Coats are too thin
Never fully wring finish mop

Old, damaged or overly porous floor
Apply sealer first, then floor finish

Cleaners
Use appropriate or recommended cleaners according to directions

Dirt and Sand
Use entrance mats, dust mop often

Improper rinsing before recoating
After stripping, use flood rinses

Burnishing pads are too aggressive
Use proper pads for various jobs

Floor temperature below 55^®F
On cold days, check floor temperature before applying finish

Fans directly on finish while drying
Point fans upward, away from floor

Streaking

Recoating too soon
Give at least 20-30 minutes between coats; stop if there is mop drag

Contamination on the floor/furniture polish, mop treatment, etc.
Remove source of contamination; strip, rinse, and recoat

Dirty mops/unclean equipment
Use only clean mops and buckets for floor finish/use can liner inside bucket

Finish exposed to extreme temperature
Do not apply finish that’s been frozen

Coats are too thin
Apply medium to full coats of finish

Discoloration

Coating over dirt
Always clean floor before recoating

Poor daily cleaning/burnishing over dirt
Clean floor daily / Always clean floor before burnishing / Use walk off mats

Applying finish with new cotton mop
Soak and clean new mops before use

Quat disinfectant residue
Scrub or mop wash floor once a week with an all-purpose cleaner

Colored floor pads
Use natural, white, or tan pads for burnishing

Reflections Troubleshooting Guide

I’m getting excessive foam or bubbles in my water-based wood floor coating.

Be sure that you do not wring out your T-bar pad too much on turns. Lightly press it out before beginning the next section of floor. Also, walk at a slow and deliberate pace when pulling the T-bar. Walking too fast will create more air in your coating and can lead to excessive foam and bubbles.

I have excessive scuffing on my gym floor, and I waited past the time needed to allow for sports play.

Play time means light sports play only. You must wait until after the cure time before exposing your floor to heavy workloads. Also, it is very important to turn on the HVAC system after your coating has tacked up. This is about 2 hours for water-based coatings and 6 hours for oil-based coatings. If you do not get fresh air exchanged in your gym, the coating will cure much more slowly.

I have uneven boards on my wood floor that result in puddling when I coat the floor.

Overlap all passes by at least ½ the width of the T-bar. Use shorter T-bars, such as an 18" T-bar, which will require you to make more passes on the floor, but will also help prevent leaving puddles behind. Finally, apply pressure to the T-bar handle when you come to areas that are lower and are known to be a problem spot for puddling.

My wood floor coating streaked when I applied it to the floor.

Be sure to pour a 3-4 inch bead for use with the T-bar. If your bead gets too thin, your coating will streak. The ideal coverage rate is 500-600 sq. ft. per gallon. Also, overlap by ½ the width of the T-bar on all passes.

My Arena^® 300/200 wood floor has become slippery.

Be sure to follow the Reflections Maintenance Procedures outlined in the Reflections Maintenance video. Daily dust mopping and maintaining a good matting system are the most important steps. Also, clean your floor with Floortonic™ diluted at 6 oz. per gallon of cold water, and once the floor is dry, burnish the floor with a high-speed burnisher equipped with a light hair pad. This will immediately bring back the “squeak” to your Arena 300/200 floors.

My wood floor coating “orange peeled” when I applied the second coat.

The Reflections Procedure Manual recommends recoat windows after the coating is tack-free. Under extreme conditions of humidity or heat this tack-up time can take much longer and recoat windows should be adjusted accordingly. At a minimum, a second coat should never be applied before 6 hours after applying the first coat of Arena 300/200. Coliseum^® 450 and 350 cannot be second coated prior to at least 24 hours after the first coat was applied. At least 14 hours must pass before applying the second coat of Larry’s Super 40. Coliseum 275 should never have a second coat applied.

I ended up with excessive coating when I got to the end of the gym floor.

Start thinning out your bead of coating as you get about 15 feet from the wall. Only pour coating where you need it in small “pancake” size puddles. Do not pour a full-length bead inside the 15-foot area.

My floor contractor says I can't use an auto-scrubber on my gym floor or else it will void my warranty.

Use Screen Clean^™ to tack your gym floor. This will keep excessive moisture off your gym floor so as to not damage your boards. Screen Clean is a ready-to-use cleaner that leaves no film behind. Simply wet a white cotton terry cloth towel down, wrap it around a push broom, and push it across the floor. As the towel becomes dirty or dry, re-apply Screen Clean to it. You can use multiple towels if your towel becomes dirty.

I did not get the right coverage rate for my wood floor coating.

Always use a heavy-weight T-bar for any oil-based coating, and use a light-weight T-bar for water-based coatings. Do not apply excessive pressure to the bar – allow the weight of the bar to control the coverage rate. Also, always overlap by ½ the length of the bar on all passes while coating your gym floor.

I ended up with two gallons of Arena 300 left over after coating my gym floor.

If you have left-over coating it can be capped off and used up to 60 days later. After that, the coating should be discarded. However, for Arena 300/200, if you use the Fast Flow Spigot on the Action Pac^® and leave it on after coating the gym floor (do not remove or open the spigot after standing the Action Pac back up right), no air will get into the Action Pac and the coating can be used up to a year later.

Buckeye Eco^® Proportioning Program Troubleshooting Guide

The water continues to slowly flow after I release the high flow operating button(s).

The water will continue to flow for a few seconds after the operating button is released. If it continues to drip, this means that the seal has moved out of its original position. Turn off the water faucet. Then cycle each high flow button for 12 cycles. Turn the faucet back on and continue to use.

Concentrated product is not being pulled into the tubing when connected.

First, disconnect the Buckeye Eco^® bag and then press on the white tip in the green Quick-Connect to ensure it is opening. Reconnect the Eco bag and try again. Second, if product is still not flowing, disconnect the Eco bag and connect to a different green Quick-Connect to check if the Eco bag is malfunctioning. If product is still not flowing, replace the Eco bag and check with your local Buckeye distributor for replacement product. Third, if product begins to flow you should replace the green Quick-Connect on the original tubing. Check with your local Buckeye distributor or manufacturing representative for a replacement Quick-Connect.