Agar Tuff Gloss Acrylic Floor Polish and Sealer for Hard Floors 5L

A stripped floor is only as good as the coating that goes back onto it. Get the build wrong and the gloss is gone in a fortnight, the traffic lanes grey off, and the crew is back on the machines months before the budget said they would be. Most of the cost of a strip and seal sits in the labour, not in the drum, so the polish that goes down has to hold its shine through the traffic the floor actually sees.

Tuff Gloss is Agar's polish and sealer for that job, and this is the 5Lt bottle. It goes on undiluted with a fringe mop or a bucket mop, over base coats on a properly stripped floor. Extra high solids mean the shine arrives in fewer coats than a standard acrylic, and fewer coats is fewer hours on the floor and a shorter closure for the site.

What the dry film does under traffic

Once it dries, Tuff Gloss leaves a colourless modified acrylic film, metal cross-linked, with a very high degree of scratch repair when it is burnished. Scratching that would otherwise mean a recoat can be buffed back out instead, and the high abrasion resistance is why a coated floor keeps its sparkle through the day rather than dulling off by mid afternoon.

Responsive buffability is what stretches the time between strips and seals. On the floors Agar lists for it, the vinyl down a school corridor or the terrazzo across a foyer, a maintenance program of cleaning and dry buffing holds the finish for longer before the full strip cycle comes around again.

Key Futures:

Full gloss in fewer coats: Extra high solids build the shine faster than a standard acrylic, so a strip and seal wraps up in fewer passes. That is labour off the job and a shorter closure for the site.

Scratches buff back out: The dry film is a metal cross-linked acrylic with a very high degree of scratch repair when it is burnished. Run a machine over the traffic lanes and the gloss lifts again instead of calling for a recoat.

Shine that lasts the day: High abrasion resistance keeps a coated floor sparkling rather than greying off by afternoon. That buffability then stretches the time between strips and seals.

Slip resistance tested under dry conditions: Tuff Gloss passes AS 4663-2013 with a mean dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.60, against a minimum requirement of 0.40. Any polished floor still gets slippery once it is wet or contaminated.

Nothing to dilute or get wrong: It goes on straight from the 5Lt bottle in thin coats, so the finish never rides on someone getting a mix right. A new starter needs the coat count and the drying check, and nothing else to calculate.

Where it can be used: Agar lists Tuff Gloss for vinyl tiles, sealed timber, sealed terrazzo, sealed marble, sealed polished concrete, terracotta, slate, linoleum and brick floors.

Not suitable for: Non-porous ceramic and porcelain tiles, because acrylic sealers do not bond to them. Before you attempt a ceramic tile, pre-test it: lay two coats on one tile, let it dry, press adhesive packaging tape across it and rip the tape off. Sealer that stays bonded means the floor can be sealed, and sealer that peels means it cannot, in which case Stone Block seals that type of surface.

Tuff Gloss is ready to use and goes on undiluted. Coats are mopped on thin with a fringe mop or a bucket mop, then left to dry to a tack free film before the next coat goes down.

1. Strip the floor first, new floors included. Remove adhesive, built up polish, wax and other soilage with Ultrastrip, Demolish or STR-36, because new flooring carries a protective film from the factory that polish will not stick to. Before stripping linoleum, read and follow the flooring manufacturer's instructions, and keep strong strippers off it.
2. Flood rinse vinyl or terrazzo to clear the stripper and dirt, covering the floor well with clean water, then mop up or wet vac it and let it dry. Do not flood rinse timber. Burnish vinyl and fringe mop to lift the dust, and do not burnish bare terrazzo or stone.
3. Apply 1 or 2 thin base coats with a fringe mop or a bucket mop. Agar recommends First Base for concrete, marble and terrazzo. For extra gloss, buff the floor once those first 2 coats are dry.
4. Check the base coats are tack free, then apply 2 coats of Tuff Gloss, making a total of 3 to 4 coats.
5. After at least 24 hours, and up to 2 to 7 days, clean the floor and apply 2 more coats of Tuff Gloss. That 5 coat film is the foundation that protects the flooring and carries the depth of shine.
6. Buff with any buffing machine from 600 to 2500 rpm. UHS machines reach peak gloss more quickly, and Jackeroo Lite or other UHS pads suit burnishing.
7. Maintain the floor by cleaning with Autoscrub, Sympol or Scrub 'N' Shine, then dry buffing or spray buffing with softer pads that carry no natural hair fibres. Recoat heavy traffic areas when they need it.

Cold and humid weather: Do not apply any polish to a very cold floor at 9 degrees C or less. If very cold or humid weather cannot be avoided, lay very thin coats one hour apart.

When the film is worn: Scrub the worn film off with Florprep at 1:20 using blue pads, then buff, sweep and recoat with Tuff Gloss.

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Before you start: Tuff Gloss is classified as hazardous under Safe Work Australia criteria for skin sensitisation, and it may cause an allergic skin reaction. It is not a Dangerous Good under the ADG Code.

Wear protective gloves and keep the product off your skin. Prevent skin contact with impervious gloves and clothes, preferably an apron, and cover all skin areas. Avoid breathing mists, vapours or spray. No special ventilation is needed, and eye protection and a respirator are not required under normal conditions.

First aid: On skin, wash gently and thoroughly with water, and get medical advice if a rash or irritation develops. In the eyes, flush with lukewarm, gently flowing water for 5 minutes while holding the eyelid open. If it is swallowed, do not induce vomiting: wash the mouth out and give some water to drink. Call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 1126 from anywhere in Australia, at any hour.

Storage: Tuff Gloss is stable for 12 months. Keep it in its original sealed container, tightly closed, out of direct sunlight and between 10 and 30 degrees C. Keep it away from acids, bases and strong oxidising agents.

Environmental and disposal:
Tuff Gloss is water based and non-flammable, and it is harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects. Used solutions go into a drain or trough that leads to the sewer system or a septic tank, where the waste is treated and broken down.
Never send used solutions to stormwater drains or down a driveway, because those drains carry rainwater to the local river system.