Floor burnishing can restore the shine and smoothness of commercial or industrial floors. Burnishing works on all hard floor surfaces, including wood, vinyl, laminate, and tile. When done well, burnishing floors brings a level of professionalism to your space and shows it is well-maintained. It even smooths out imperfections that can trap dirt, keeping your floors cleaner for longer. 

 

To achieve a high-gloss finish with a burnisher machine, the right steps must be followed. These include adequately prepping the floor for burnishing, setting up and operating the machine correctly, and proper clean-up.

Prepare The Area For Burnishing

The area must first be free of dust, dirt, and debris to ensure an effective burnishing process. Thoroughly cleaning the floors in your space is a multi-step process:

 

1. Remove any rugs, small furniture, or other items that might become obstacles when you start floor cleaning.
2. Sweep the floor.
3. Mop the floor with your preferred cleaning products. The floor must be 100% clean before burnishing or dirt can get embedded in the floor finish.

Setup The Burnisher And Solution

Burnishers come with different pads for different types of floors. Choose the correct pad for your space, and center it on the pad driver at the bottom of the burnisher. Centering the pad ensures the machine applies even pressure on all parts of the floor. 

 

You may also want to add a finishing or polishing solution to the machine. Read your machine’s manual for specific directions on where to add the solution and recommendations on what type of solution to use.

 

Explore whether an electric cord burnisher or a battery-powered burnisher is right for your business.

Burnish The Floor

Operating a floor burnishing machine is fairly simple. Here are some expert tips on how to burnish floors effectively:

 

• Start at one corner of the space and work your way across to make sure you don’t miss any spots.
• Move forward and backward like you are pushing a lawn mower. Make sure all the wheels of the machine stay on the ground.
• Move the burnisher in smooth, even motions. Try to maintain a consistent speed.
• Avoid leaving the burnisher on in one spot, as this can build up too much heat and damage the floor. 
• Monitor the floor’s shine and go over an area twice if needed. 
• Adjust the machine’s speed or pressure as needed to achieve your desired results.

Clean Up After Floor Burnishing

Burnishing floors creates a lot of dust, so make sure to factor in time to clean up after. You will want to sweep and/or mop the floors again and wipe down the machine. To prepare the burnisher for storage, remove the burnishing pad and the battery (for battery-operated machines). Recharge the battery if needed. If you decide to leave the pad on, store the machine so that the pad does not touch the floor.

A well-burnished floor has an unmistakable high shine to it. It can impress visitors and lengthen the lifespan of the floor. However, a cheap floor burnishing machine will not produce the results you are looking for. For large commercial and industrial spaces, a professional floor burnisher is needed. 

 

The key features to look for in a good burnisher machine include:

• Pad speed: Burnishers operate at high speeds of 1000-3000 revolutions per minute. The faster the floor pad turns, the more shine you can achieve. 
• Maneuverability: A good burnisher will be easy to move around and use in a variety of spaces. 
• Durability: A high-quality floor burnisher is an investment, so you will want it to last for many years.
• Machine type: Choose between a walk-behind burnisher that you push or a burnisher that you ride on top of.
• Power source: There are battery-operated and corded machines. Corded machines do not require recharging but are limited by the length of the cord.
• Run time: Battery-operated machines usually specify how large of an area they can complete before needing to recharge. Compare this to the size of your space.

Nilfisk makes walk-behind and ride-on burnishers that are user-friendly, so anyone on your staff can tackle this project without needing to go through hours of additional training. Our burnisher machines are designed with innovative safety features like lock-out switches, safety buttons, and self-regulating pressure pads.

Fill out our contact form today, and a member of our team will reach out to provide a customized quote based on your specific business needs. We serve businesses across a wide range of industries and can help you find the right burnisher for your industrial or commercial space.