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The effects of humidity on the drying and
performance of a floor finish is very important. High humidity
retards the evaporation of water from the polish film, leaving
the film soft, incompletely dry, and very Scuffable. Floor
finish films, like latex paints, dry (harden) from the surface
inward towards the flooring. Thus a floor finish which appears
to be dry and feels dry to touch can in fact be wet and
soft down close to the floor. Adequate ventilation during
and after applying a floor finish is very important. If
the air in the area being finished is high in humidity,
close the windows and run the air conditioner to lower the
humidity. In the winter, turn up the heat to dry the air
and also warm-up the substrate (flooring).
Problems caused by high humidity are:
1. Excessive scuffing and black marking from traffic until
finish dries hard.
2. Poor detergent and water resistance due to the delay
in finish cross-linking.
3. The threat and reality of “gluing” furniture to the floor.
4. Streaking and mop drag created by the coat being applied
“biting” into preceding coats. (this phenomenon is caused
by the applied coat re-emulsifying the previous coating
that has not yet cure.)
Another important aspect in the drying of floor finish is
the correlation between drying time and solids of the finish.
Higher solids results in a thicker film developing on the
floor and thus, a greater period of dry time being required
between coats (sometimes in excess of one hour). |
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