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).
