Desco TB-5014 User Manual

Application and Maintenance Program
St atfree®ESD Protective Floor Care Products

General Guidelines

Statfree®Floor Finish eliminates static
charges from building up on personnel
and equipment, reducing the potential
hazard of ESD related failures in
sensitive environments. Unlike most
conventional static control acrylic floor
finishes which rely on zinc cross-linking
technology, Statfree®is free of zinc and
other heavy metals. This is important to
users being monitored, or those desiring
to reduce metal discharge into their
waste water. Statfree®durability and low
cost make it ideal for use as a
protective overcoat on expensive
conductive floor tiles.

For maximum effectiveness Statfree

®

Dissipative Floor Finish should be used
as part of a comprehensive
maintenance program that includes use
of other Floor Care products such as
Statguard®Floor Stripper and Floor
Cleaner, and Statfree

®

Spray Buff and
Burnishing Restorer. Proper attention
paid to the application and maintenance
of Statfree®Floor Finish will result in
increased durability and enhanced ESD
control performance.

Made in America

Figure 1. Statfree®Dissipative Floor
Finish, Item 46009

Description

Statfree®Zinc-Free Floor Finish is
formulated utilizing a highly unique
polymer chemistry. The Statfree

®

formulation provides a highly effective
ESD protective flooring surface,
providing protection for floor surfaces
most prone to generate high levels of
static charges. The Statfree

®

proprietary polymer formula provides
consistent and rapid charge dissipation
without the use of heavy metal cross­linking agents commonly used in other
ESD protective floor finish products.
Statfree®Floor Finish is a free flowing
liquid emulsion, which can be easily
applied to any hard surface or sealed
floor including vinyl, linoleum, rubber,
asphalt, sealed or painted wood,
terrazzo and concrete. Statfree

®

dissipates charges from personnel and
equipment alike, and prevents
tribocharging (static charge generation)
while building a clear, high gloss floor
surface that resists wear.

This Floor Finish's unique chemistry
allows it to maintain its dissipative
electrical properties in both low and high
humidity environments. The Statfree

®

polymer formula provides electrical
properties which significantly lower
charge generation when compared to
conventional acrylic floor finishes.

TB-5014 05/07 Page 1 of 7

© 2007 DESCO INDUSTRIES INC.

Employee Owned

TECHNICAL BULLETIN

Statfree®is UL listed for slip resistance
for added user safety.

SAFE WALKING SURFACE
UL Classified as to slip resistance
only. Statfree

®

provides superior
electrical properties along with a safe
walking surface. Underwriters
Laboratory has evaluated Statfree

®

and
tested it to their slip resistance
standards. To ensure employee safety
and to mitigate user’s liability exposure,
it is important to use floor finish that has
been successfully tested for slip
resistance, and is properly installed and
maintained.

STATGUARD FLOORING • 90 HUDSON ROAD CANTON, MA 02021 • PHONE [phone] • FAX [phone] • www.statguardflooring.com

NOTE: Statfree®Dissipative Floor Care
products do not have a set life span.
The chemicals are not known to
degrade over time when stored at the
proper temperature conditions as stated
in the Material Safety Data Sheet. We
also recommend that these products be
stored in their original containers and be
sealed when not in use.

Grounding (Typically Not Required)

Conventional grounding practices, such
as electrically connecting Statfree

®

Floor Finish to earth or building ground
is required only for applications of floor
finish that are less than 50 square feet.
For applications that are greater than 50
square feet, grounding is not required.
The capacitance of large installations of
Statfree®Floor Finish is vastly greater
than the capacitance of the human
body. This enormous difference in
capacitance allows the treated floor to
act as a theoretical charge reservoir or
natural ground. The capacitance and
surface resistance of Statfree®treated
floors will decay a 5000 volt charge to 0
in less than 0.1 seconds when tested to
Federal Test Method Standard 101C,
Method 4046. Statfree®Dissipative
Floor Finish exceeds industry accepted
static decay requirements.

Foot grounders should be used. It is
recommended that foot grounders be
worn on both feet. For additional
information call Statfree® customers
service.

Figure 2. Foot grounders should be
used on ESD protective flooring.

finish. The sealer also provides a barrier
to prevent any water migrating up
through the surface of the concrete.

No Sealer Application: Sealing is
recommended for increasing coverage
and correcting problem concrete
surfaces that are not dry or free from
grease, oil, etc. If the subfloor surface is
dry, level, and free from dirt, grease, oil,
paint, sealer, old adhesives, and other
foreign materials it may be suitable to
applying Statfree

®

finish directly onto

the concrete.

COVERAGE

Statfree

®

Dissipative Floor Finish covers
approximately 2000 square feet per
gallon per coat on smooth surfaces.
Coverage is less on coarse or textured
surfaces. With 18% solids, Statfree

®

Floor Finish is easier to apply with
significantly better productivity than
competing brands.

DRY TIME

It is recommended that Statfree

®

be
allowed to dry to the touch. At higher
relative humidity levels, a longer drying
time may be necessary. Wait 6 hours
before allowing light traffic, 12 hours
before regular traffic, 48 hours before
any wet maintenance, and 72 hours
before heavy equipment and floor truck
traffic.

CLOSE CONTAINER AFTER EACH
USE. KEEP FROM FREEZING. DO
NOT TAKE INTERNALLY.

Floor Stripping

Figure 3. Statfree®Floor Stripper Item
No. 46021, 5 gallon container.

Floor Preparation - Surface

CONCRETE

Two measures are used to determine a
good concrete surface for Statfree

®

Floor Finish:

1. The surface should be sealed.

2. The surface should be cleaned of all
contaminants.

SURFACE

Surface to be finished should be clean,
dry, and smooth. Heavy dirt or grease
build up should be removed with a
stripper or degreaser. DO NOT use
Statfree

®

on surfaces colder than 45° F.

SEALING

Surface preparation is absolutely critical
for porous materials such as concrete.
Proper preparation simplifies
application, increases durability and
ensures proper performance. Industrial
grade polyurethane, vinyl or acrylic base
sealers are recommended to seal highly
porous floors before the application of
Statfree®Floor Finish. Enamel sealers
can be used for bare wood, while
enamel undercoat with rust inhibitors
are recommended for metal surfaces.
DO NOT use Statfree®on surfaces
colder than 45° F.

New concrete should be allowed to cure
for 60 days before sealing. Concrete
surfaces do not all have the same
physical and chemical properties. They
vary widely due to the variety of ways
concrete can be formulated, poured or
finished.

There are several methods to prepare
problem concrete. Each method
depends on the condition of the
concrete. Cleaning methods range
from: sweeping, vacuuming, wire brush,
air-blasting, water jet, steam cleaning,
or stripping. Concrete surfaces are very
porous and should be properly sealed
prior to the application of Statfree

®

Floor

Finish.
Adhesion properties for the concrete

sealer can be increased by profiling or
rouging the concrete surface through
acid etching, rotary drum sanding,
scarifying or mechanically scratching
the surface. The concrete sealer will
reduce the porosity of the concrete and
provide a smooth level surface for the

Stripping the floor is recommended for
first time application of any finish. New
tiles are supplied with a protective
factory finish that protects during
installation but should be stripped away
prior to any floor finish application.
Properly maintained floors should be
stripped one to three times annually,
depending on traffic and buildup of
contaminated finish. Statguard®Floor
Stripper is recommended to strip
multiple layers of floor finish or coatings.

Equipment needed:

• Push broom

• Single pad 175 RPM stripping
machine (with black or brown
stripping pad)

• Mops

• Statguard®Stripper, Item #46021

• Buckets

• Wet vacuum

1. Always use in a well ventilated area

or wear a suitable respirator. Wear
appropriate eye protection such as
splash goggles and impervious type
protective gloves.

2. Sweep away all loose dirt and

contaminants.

3. Dilute Statguard®Floor Stripper 3:1,

Three (3) parts HOT water to one (1)
part stripper.

4. Apply stripper liberally to around 200

square foot area in need of stripping.
Using a clean string mop to apply
diluted stripper, uniformly distribute the
solution. Let the solution stand for 3 to
8 minutes. Do not allow it to dry.

5. Scrub the treated floor with the

stripping machine at 175 rpm using a
stripping pad soaked in stripping
solution.

Figure 4. Stripping floor.

TB-5014 Page 2 of 7

© 2007 DESCO INDUSTRIES INC.

Employee Owned

STATGUARD FLOORING • 90 HUDSON ROAD CANTON, MA 02021 • PHONE [phone] • FAX [phone] • www.statguardflooring.com

6. Pick up the loosened floor finish
using a wet vacuum or mop. Repeat
steps 3 and 4 as required.

Use neutralizer item 46022 to rinse.
Using neutralizer reduces the number of
times needed to rinse.

7. Thoroughly rinse the floor two to
three times with clean water to remove
all spent chemicals. NOTE: If rinsing is

not completed thoroughly, the remaining
chemicals will soften new finish as it is
applied, thereby diminishing its
durability.

8. Pick up the rinse water with a wet
vacuum or mop.

9. Inspect floor to be sure all stripper
and old finish has been removed. Allow
floor to dry thoroughly before applying
any new floor finish.

For additional usage information and a
MSDS sheet on Statguard®Floor
Stripper, ask for Technical Bulletin TB-

5004.
It is recommended that the stripped

surface be tested after rinsing to ensure
that high pH residues do not remain.
Some high pH strippers will leave a
residue behind even after several
rinses. Ahigh pH can affect the floor
finish curing time as well as other
properties of the finish. To test for high
pH residue, test either the rinse water or
the floor using either a pH measurement
instrument or a piece of pH indicating
litmus paper. Asafe pH level will be
between 7.0 (neutral) and 8.0 (mildly,
alkaline). Two sources for litmus paper
are Micro Essential Laboratory,
Brooklyn, NY 11210 or Fisher Scientific,
Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410.

Floor Finish Application

It is recommended that three coats of
Statfree®Floor Finish are put down in
the initial application.

TB-5014 Page 3 of 7

© 2007 DESCO INDUSTRIES INC.

Employee Owned

STATGUARD FLOORING • 90 HUDSON ROAD CANTON, MA 02021 • PHONE [phone] • FAX [phone] • www.statguardflooring.com

Figure 5. Statfree®Dissipative Floor
Finish Item No. 46009, 5 gallon

Equipment needed:

• Statfree®Dissipative Floor Finish

• Clean rayon (or cotton blend) mop
dedicated to Statfree®use only

• Clean bucket, and wringer dedicated
to Statfree®use only

If Statfree®freezes, allow it to thaw to
70°C before application.

1. Always use in a well ventilated area

or wear a suitable respirator. Wear
appropriate eye protection such as
splash goggles and impervious type
protective gloves.

2. Pour Dissipative Floor Finish into a

clean bucket. Apply using a damp clean
rayon or cotton mop. Make sure to use
a dedicated mop, do not use a mop that
has been used to strip or mop floors.
Coat the floor uniformly, avoiding
excessive foaming.

3. Allow the first coat to dry for 60

minutes, then apply a second coat.

4. Repeat step 2 for the third coat.

5. Allow last coat to dry overnight or

minimum of 6 hours before permitting
any kind of floor traffic on the newly
coated area. An overnight curing time is
preferred.

6. Allow minimum of 48 hours of drying

time before performing any wet
maintenance (restoring and spray
burnishing) on the newly coated floor.

Floor Finish Maintenance

DRY MOP PROGRAM

Keep the floor surface clean. Use an
untreated dust mop or push broom daily
or as needed to remove accumulated
dirt and insulative contaminants.

Statguard®Dissipative Floor
Cleaner

Statguard®Dissipative Floor Cleaner is
specifically formulated to clean floors
treated with Statfree®Dissipative Floor
Finish. Statguard

®

Floor Cleaner is
formulated with dissipative agents that
will rejuvenate and improve the static
dissipative properties of floors treated
with Statfree

®

Floor Finish.

Figure 6. Floor maintenance with
Statguard®Dissipative Floor Cleaner,
Item No. 46031, 5 gallon, concentrate.

Statguard®Dissipative Cleaner
effectively cleans without leaving behind
any harmful residue that can dull the
surface or impede dissipation
properties. Statguard®Cleaner is a
non-alkaline detergent with a neutral
pH, which requires no rinsing. Use the
following procedure to clean treated
floors with Statguard®Cleaner. This
product is also recommended for use on
conductive floor tile and epoxy.

CLEANING SCHEDULE

Heavy to moderate traffic floors should
be cleaned 1-2 times per week. Light
traffic floors should be cleaned once a
week or as needed.