Monthly or annual maintenance? Learn how professional cleaning, polishing and periodic restoration help maintain NeverStrip Micron Sealers, and when additional sealer applications may be necessary.
NeverStrip Micron Sealer Maintenance: Monthly vs. Annual Service
How often should NeverStrip Micron Sealers be professionally maintained, and when is reapplication necessary?
For commercial facilities with heavy foot traffic, maintaining a consistent floor appearance is an ongoing priority. Healthcare facilities, in particular, must balance daily activity with the time and resources available for professional floor maintenance.
A common question is whether NeverStrip Micron Sealers can be maintained with one annual service or whether monthly professional maintenance is the better approach.
The answer depends largely on the appearance a facility expects throughout the year.
NeverStrip Micron Sealers are designed to eliminate the traditional strip-and-recoat cycle in a normal lifecycle. However, they still benefit from regular cleaning, polishing and periodic restoration to maintain their appearance.
Understanding how these maintenance procedures work helps facility managers and floor-care contractors plan an appropriate service schedule.
Why Monthly Maintenance Makes a Difference
In high-traffic environments, scratches, scuffs and marks accumulate over time. When professional maintenance is postponed for an entire year, these appearance issues can become increasingly noticeable.
Although many of these issues may be corrected during the eventual service visit, the facility may have to accept an inconsistent or unsatisfactory floor appearance in the meantime.
Monthly professional maintenance addresses these issues more frequently, helping maintain a consistent appearance throughout the year.
This is especially valuable in facilities where floors experience continuous traffic and maintaining their appearance is a priority.
The key consideration is how long a facility is willing to allow visible wear and marks to remain before they are addressed.
A Recommended Monthly Micron Sealer Maintenance Program
NeverStrip Micron Sealers respond well to polishing with diamond-impregnated pads because of their largely inorganic composition.
For Micron Sealers with their original sheen, a monthly professional maintenance program can include the following procedure.
Monthly Cleaning and Polishing
Clean the sealed floor using NeverStrip Micron Clean diluted at 1 ounce per gallon of water with an 8000-grit diamond-impregnated pad.
If additional polishing is required, buff the surface using a separate, designated 8000-grit pad.
Micron Clean is a near-neutral pH cleaner developed for use with NeverStrip Micron Sealers. Its formulation releases oils and accumulated deposits from the coated surface, helping maintain a clean appearance.
Quarterly Restoration
Approximately once per quarter, the professional maintenance visit can incorporate NeverStrip Micron Restore at a dilution of 10 ounces per gallon of water.
Micron Restore is formulated to clean and restore the condition of NeverStrip Micron Sealers by depositing rebuilding components onto the coated surface.
These components help improve the surface condition and burnishing effectiveness while reducing the frequency of recoating.
The Micron Restore Product Data Sheet also specifies cleaning the floor before application and recommends buffing with an 8000-grit pad afterward for Original Sheen.
Together, Micron Clean, Micron Restore and the proper maintenance pads provide a method for maintaining the sealer's appearance without following a traditional strip-and-recoat program.
Note: The procedures described above apply to Original Sheen. Lower Satin Sheen has different pad requirements, including the use of a red pad rather than diamond pads during restoration.
What if a Facility Only Schedules Annual Maintenance?
Some commercial facilities prefer to schedule professional floor maintenance once per year.
An annual service is possible, but the work required may be more extensive than with regular monthly maintenance.
When a Micron Sealer has gone an entire year without professional servicing, NeverStrip's technical recommendation is to plan for cleaning with Micron Clean using a 3500-grit pad, followed by buffing with an 8000-grit pad.
After this process, the condition and appearance of the sealer can be evaluated.
In many cases, the cleaning and polishing process may restore the desired appearance without additional sealer applications.
In other situations, two new applications of Micron Sealer may be required.
For contractors preparing an annual maintenance proposal, it is advisable to include the potential cost of two additional applications, even if the work ultimately proves unnecessary.
This allows the facility to budget for the possibility of reapplication without assuming it will automatically be required every year.
The decision should be based on the condition of the sealer following cleaning and polishing.
Why Micron Sealers Don't Require the Traditional Strip-and-Recoat Cycle
The difference between maintaining NeverStrip Micron Sealers and conventional floor finish begins with their composition.
Traditional floor finishes are generally organic-based products. These finishes are softer and less dense than NeverStrip's largely inorganic Micron Sealers.
Over time, conventional floor finish can yellow or discolor, while soils can penetrate the finish. As appearance deteriorates, the floor may require scrubbing and recoating, followed eventually by stripping and reapplication.
NeverStrip Micron Sealers behave differently.
Their inorganic composition helps keep soils on the surface rather than allowing them to become embedded in the sealer. This allows soils to be removed through proper cleaning.
Micron Sealers also do not contain the organic components associated with yellowing in conventional floor finishes.
These characteristics allow the system to be maintained through cleaning, polishing, restoration and occasional reapplication rather than repeated stripping.
Think of a Micron Sealer as a Very Thin Layer of Flexible Stone
One way to understand the maintenance process is to compare a Micron Sealer to a thin, flexible layer of stone.
When a polished stone surface develops minor scratches, polishing can help restore its appearance.
NeverStrip Micron Sealers respond similarly to polishing with diamond-impregnated pads.
This is why selecting the proper pads and cleaners is an important part of the maintenance program.
The goal is to maintain and refresh the existing sealer surface rather than repeatedly remove and replace it.
What About Coating Buildup?
NeverStrip Micron Sealers are exceptionally thin compared with conventional floor finishes.
A typical application produces approximately 1.65 microns of dry film thickness. Three applications create a combined thickness of approximately 4.9 microns.
For comparison, a human hair is approximately 50 to 70 microns thick.
Traditional floor finish systems commonly use four to six applications, producing approximately 20 to 30 microns of dry film thickness.
Because Micron Sealers are applied in such thin layers, periodic reapplication does not create the same visible buildup associated with conventional floor finish systems.
This is another reason why Micron Sealer maintenance differs from the traditional approach of repeatedly applying, stripping and replacing floor finish.
Choosing the Right Maintenance Schedule
The appropriate professional maintenance schedule depends on traffic conditions, appearance expectations and the condition of the existing Micron Sealer system.
For facilities with heavy foot traffic, monthly maintenance provides more frequent opportunities to remove scratches, scuffs and marks before they accumulate.
Quarterly restoration with Micron Restore can help maintain the sealer's condition and reduce the frequency of reapplication.
Facilities choosing annual professional maintenance should anticipate the possibility of more extensive cleaning and polishing, along with additional sealer applications if necessary.
Regardless of the schedule, the objective remains the same: maintain the appearance of the existing Micron Sealer system using the proper cleaners, pads and restoration procedures.
Questions About Maintaining Your NeverStrip Floors?
Whether you're developing a maintenance program for a healthcare facility, school or other commercial property, NeverStrip can help you understand the appropriate care procedures for your Micron Sealer system.
Contact NeverStrip to discuss your floor maintenance requirements.
Technical Guidance and Product Resources
This blog is based on technical maintenance guidance provided by Kevin Richardson, Technical Director at NeverStrip, in response to questions about servicing Micron Sealers in high-traffic commercial facilities.
For additional product information, refer to: