darn that floor looks rough

[John ED Renstrom]

so what can we do about it except change it or live with it? it it's sun rotter and all dried out split and peeling change it you must. but what about those strange stains the gurney scratches the aluminum bar rubes and just general wear and tear? let me show you a housekeeping trick or two. if your going for a knock out pull the trim around the edge and buff it toss those striped-out screws and those missed matched on barely holding the hinges on that hatch and folding seat. set and get some3 inch Number 6 X head screws. no bigger is not the answer longer is. dip them in some glue and zip them in starting from the center and working out. the good news is the original linoleum has the pattern clear threw it. you new vinyl is only on the surface and is throw-away stuff. the original you can sand imperfections out of. so if it really rough start with 80 grit on the bad spots and work your way up. I have removed some nasty things from the floor. this 77 was just well used. I don't know what was under the Aluminum patch panels so think you just let lay but if it's scared up down to the wood this is one way to salvage what you can. so we started with 180 on this floor and went up to 400. and the red scotch pad as our final scuff. with our soap and water scrub

 

[John ED Renstrom]

then after the final scrub, when it will dry. you can start laying your finish on. since we sanded the floor we are looking at raw linoleum. you will need to seal it. the only product I could find in town was a sealer wax at Ace. it not as good as a sealer and a wax but it will work. if you have a industrial supply house near you you might get them there. the trick is to not get in a hurry. As this was a cost-plus job I let each layer sit overnight before the next. but if you're in for a rush job give your sealer a good 2 hours to dry with air running over it if you can. then you can start waxing. I have seen past wax used when you wanted to impress but it scuffs easily. In this case, I used 4 layers to get my build-up. As we were doing other things we would put a layer on just before quitting for the day. for the rubber flooring, I use spray tire foam and a rag

 

[John ED Renstrom]

then for our final stage, it gets a buff. there is a floor product called Speed Shine we used in the hospital when we buffed the floors I have never tried the Gourets product with the same name on a floor. but a good bonnet on the buffer will do nicely. on the floor and the hood. this floor had a set of angle horns on it at one time in its life so we used a couple of hole plugs to give the floor a finished look. once the interior got back in it looked nice.

 

[Richard Vyse]

Looks great!!!

 

[Bob Dyke]

Ed-looking at your beautiful floor and the shine you have gives me nightmares. Nightmares of diving into a unit in a hurry with a critical patient and finding out snow on your boots doesn't jive with a nice polished floor!

Looks great man. I will take your advice on my Pontiac.

 

[Philip Scanio]

ED, that is a work of art.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

Actually, a decent industry wax is not slick but has an adhesion quality. Trust me there isn't room in this 77 to dive in. You crawl into it.

 

[Jean-Marc Dugas]

Great work.

 

[Terry Lange]

What an amazing transformation, Ed. What is that black panel on the right wheelhouse?

 

[John ED Renstrom]

Just a plastic cover over the wheel house. I spent a lot if time repairing plastic in this one. it's build back in the day of sacrificeing quility to lighten it up. bet they saved 2 pounds covering the raw edges with thin plastic trim.