Oiled, waxed or lacquered wood floor: which maintenance product, which pad
The first question is not which product to buy, but how your wood floor is finished. A maintenance product for lacquered wood floors has no business on an oiled wood floor.
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Three finishes, three kinds of maintenance
A lacquered wood floor has a film on its surface. You maintain the film; you do not touch the wood.
An oiled wood floor is impregnated. The oil is in the wood, not on it. You maintain it by replenishing the oil film.
A waxed wood floor has a coat of wax that is buffed. You maintain it by re-waxing and buffing.
The rest of this guide follows this division, because getting the family wrong damages the floor.
The pad colour code, as the catalogue describes it
This is the most searched-for and least well explained piece of information in the trade. Here is what the SIMA catalogue sheets say, with nothing added.
| Pad | Use according to the catalogue sheet | Diameters available |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Very abrasive. Dry stripping and cleaning of floors. Removes wax from wood floors. | 160, 330, 406 and 450 mm |
| Green | Wet cleaning, maintenance of tiles, marble, stone floors. | 160, 330, 406, 430 and 500 mm |
| Red | Maintenance of protected floors. Very low friction coefficient. Recommended for spray operations. | 330, 406 and 430 mm |
| Beige | Oiled wood floors, polishing of all floors, protected or not. Waxing. | 160, 200, 330, 406 and 430 mm |
| White | Buffing of all floors. Crystallisation of hard floors and marble. | 160, 200, 330, 406 and 430 mm |
| Natural fibre | Crystallisation of marble. | 406 mm |
The progression runs from the most aggressive to the gentlest: black, green, red, beige, white. Two other items complete the series: the white wool bonnet, given for buffing wood floors and plastic floors, in 330 and 406 mm, and the steel wool disc, given for dry cleaning and stripping, in 406 mm, in fine grade No. 00 and coarse grade No. 2.
The recorded thicknesses follow the diameter: 20 mm for 160, 22 mm for 200 and 330, 24 mm for 406, 430 and 500 mm.
Lacquered wood floor: the P.2, P.3 and P.4 range
Three products, three moments.
P.3 parket cleaner. A super-activated detergent. Its sheet states that it removes stains and old layers of restorer or metallising maintenance product after several applications, and that it is used before metallising a lacquered wood floor treated with various products, or soiled after building work. Supplied in 1 L (519101), 2.5 L (519125) and 5 L (519150).
P.2 parket metallising polish. Its sheet gives it for protecting and renovating all lacquered wood floors: it renovates in depth, slows the wear of the varnish and restores the shine of old, dull lacquered wood floors, without making them slippery. Supplied in 1 L (520001), 2.5 L (520025) and 5 L (520050).
P.4 parket shampoo. Cleans and restores shine, with a satin or matt look. Its sheet presents it as the complement to metallising, a neutral product with a pleasant smell, for varnishes under heavy use. Supplied in 1 L (521001), 2.5 L (521025), 5 L (521050) and 10 L (521100).
The logical order that emerges from the three sheets is as follows: strip with P.3, metallise with P.2, maintain with P.4. This sequence is deduced from the texts; it is not written as such anywhere and needs confirmation.
Oiled wood floor
Dergos is the dedicated product. Its sheet describes it as specially designed for maintaining oiled wood floors without attacking the surface, restoring the oil film while removing stains and accumulated dirt. Supplied in 1 L.
To oil or re-oil, two products.
Natural is an impregnating resin for interior wood floors, water-repellent and dust-proof. Its sheet makes two points that matter: it prevents neither a later re-sanding nor a later lacquering, and periodic maintenance is done with Dergos. Available in matt and gloss, in 1 L (315501) and 5 L (315505).
Eco soft is presented as an environmentally friendly oil for wood floors, stairs, worktops and joinery. Its sheet claims an oiled wood floor in less than 4 hours. This figure comes from the text carried over from the old site and needs confirmation. Available in matt and natural effect, in 1 L (315001) and 5 L (315005).
The beige pad is the one the catalogue associates with oiled wood floors.
To speed up drying in humid conditions when oiling, the catalogue offers a specific accessory: the Ø 406 mm heated hot disk (ref. 044060).
Waxed wood floor
The parket wax is based on natural and synthetic waxes with an added resin which, according to its sheet, gives it good water resistance. The sheet also gives the only application instruction in this part of the range: after drying, go over it with the floor polisher fitted with a beige pad or a natural bristle brush. Supplied in 1 L (511001) and 5 L (511050).
Liquid wax is a wax-rich emulsion for wood, wood floors and thermoplastic floors, described as nourishing, protective, glossy and non-slip, and easy to buff. Supplied in 5 L (340050).
The tools in this part of the range: natural bristle brush Ø 406 mm (ref. 043117), given for buffing waxed wood floors and plastic floors, and 330 mm waxing brush (ref. 033117).
Hard floors, marble and tiles
The catalogue deals with these floors in the same section because they use the same machines.
- Métal marbre, a metallising polish that protects and renovates marble and hard floors, in 1 L (614201) and 5 L (614205).
- Cristal-marbre (ref. 614002), a crystallising powder for marble and terrazzo, in 2 kg. Its sheet prescribes the combination: floor polisher and natural fibre pad.
- The green pad for wet cleaning of tiles, marble and stone, the white pad and the natural fibre pad for crystallisation.
The machine and its backing pads
For small areas, the SP 8 (ref. 033080) is the maintenance floor polisher in the catalogue: 750 W, Ø 330 mm backing pad, 180 rpm, given for stripping, cleaning, waxing, polishing and buffing on wood floors, thermoplastic floors, carpets and hard floors.
The backing pads that take the pads and discs:
- Hook and loop backing pad Ø 406 mm (ref. 043107), for felt-backed discs.
- Pin drive disc Ø 406 mm (ref. 043207).
- Bare backing pad Ø 406 mm (ref. 043101), for Ø 425 mm double-sided discs.
- Cleaning brush Ø 406 mm (ref. 043118) in hard nylon fibre, for tiles, marble and hard floors.
- Cleaning brush 330 mm (ref. 033118).
The facings are replaced separately: foam and hook and loop facing Ø 406 mm (ref. 043142), foam and pin facing Ø 406 mm (ref. 043141), self-adhesive foam facing Ø 425 mm (ref. 043103), hook and loop lining 406 mm (ref. 043144).
What this guide does not say
It does not say how often to carry out maintenance, nor how to identify with certainty the finish of a wood floor whose history is unknown. These two questions are settled in two minutes on the phone, on 03 87 71 37 50.