Luxury Vinyl Flooring: Seal It for Performance
For several years, people have chosen Luxury Vinyl Tile and Plank (LVT and LVP) flooring as a smart option for both new construction and existing buildings. To ensure high performance throughout its lifespan, you need to coat LVT and LVP with a high-quality finish that resists physical and chemical abuse.
Manufacturers introduced Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) and Luxury Plank Tile (LVP) in the 1970s as easy-to-install vinyl tiles or planks that mimic natural materials like wood and stone. They designed them to provide an aesthetic upgrade to traditional water-resistant sheet vinyl, offering several tile sizes and a seemingly limitless variety of patterns and textures. With proper installation and care, luxury vinyl offers schools, medical facilities, hotels, homes, and commercial settings an economical, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly flooring option. However, whether it comes with a factory finish or not, you will eventually need to protect it from physical and chemical damage.
"Core" Characteristics
Materials determine the performance of all types of luxury vinyl flooring. Manufacturers craft each engineered vinyl plank and tile with one of three main core types: WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) core, PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) core, or SPC (Stone Plastic Composite) core. Both WPC and PVC core products deliver a softer underfoot feel. Stone Plastic Composite (SPC) core, the toughest of the three core types, often goes by the names Rigid Core or Engineered Vinyl Tile or Plank flooring (EVT or EVP). Because SPC’s rigid core consists of 70% stone powder and 30% PVC, installers especially favor SPC-formulated planks and tiles in commercial settings, though they feel less forgiving underfoot.
Other Key Benefits
When selecting flooring, you should be aware of a few other attractive benefits that LVT and LVP seal offer. First, limited expansion and contraction make them suitable for application over in-floor heating systems. You can quickly and easily install plank-style vinyl over existing flooring (as long as it is completely flat) using a tongue-and-groove process. Second, most types of vinyl flooring typically cost less than wood or stone flooring. Additionally, cleaning vinyl flooring is usually easier than cleaning natural materials. To keep them free of debris, it’s best to dry mop regularly.
Challenges
Another key component of luxury vinyl products is the wear layer. This top transparent layer, ranging from 4–40 mils thick, may or may not include a factory-applied finish marketed as “no wax” or “maintenance free.” However, foot traffic and furniture damage gradually wear away the finish over time. Plus, because LVT and LVP have highly textured surfaces, cleaning and maintaining them is more difficult than maintaining VCT. In the past, people used acrylic wax, but it dulls within weeks after application and requires frequent stripping and recoating, which consumes a tremendous amount of labor, product, and time. Additionally, stripping and recoating create a nasty process that harms the environment.
Protecting Your Vinyl Plank and Tile Flooring
Remember, although many tout luxury vinyl flooring as “maintenance-free,” you still need to seal LVT and LVP at some point. Switching from wax to EPIC High-Performance Floor Finish protects your investment for years to come!
Here is what one of our customers has to say:
“We tried several products for a 7,000 sq. ft. gymnasium & settled on Ultra Durable EPIC. We chose Matte & absolutely love it. The finish is Rock Hard! Zero adhesion problems. Flowed & leveled flawlessly. Customer service was meticulous in coordinating the coating process. Chris was concise & prompt. I can’t recommend highly enough.”
-Joshua Raphael (Raphael Sport Floors – Lodi, CA)
I am installing 1100 feet of Karndean Korelock LVP in my home but would like to get more of a sheen after installed. Will Epic semi gloss work for me and if so what is the coverage?
Check out our coverage calulator https://ultradt.com/ultra-coverage-rate-calculator2024/, which should help. 1 gallon should do the trick!
Do you have a list of installers of the EPIC sealants for Northern California?
Robin, thank you for your interest in EPIC High-Performance Floor Finish! EPIC is available through our distributors, who work with contractors and end users. The distributor covering California is:
Surface Cleaning Innovations (SCI)
orders@sciclean.com
(865) 343-0712
10445 Cogdill Road
Knoxville, TN 37932
https://sciclean.com/
They may have such a list of contractors they work with near you, and can also help with any orders and support. Thank you!
Does Epic seal off gassing?
How is it regarded for the chemically sensitive?
I installed LVP Lifeproof brand in 1500 sf of my home; I had no idea I could be sensitive to it’s off gassing, but it appears that I am.
Mel,
EPIC does not pose a health threat because of its extremely low odor/low-VOC formula (<50 g/L) In fact, one of the benefits of EPIC is that it outperforms althernative solutions in this regard. I hope this answers your question!
Thanks!
How long does it need to dry before being walked on?
Peter,
Here is the answer to your question about dry time.
Dry times (77 deg / 50% rH)
Dry to touch – 3 hrs for our 4-hour fomula and 5 hrs for our 8-hour formula
Light foot traffic – 4 hrs for our 4-hour formula and 8 hours for our 8-hour formula
Thank you!
Can this be used outdoors
Hi Carl,
We recommend EPIC for indoor surfaces or locations that do not have the potential for standing water. Thank you!
Question,we just put the Tarkett lvp with the tectonics finish thats there no wax factory coating glue down plank in our Gym at our church it is a Matte finish and we want to put a Low gloss finish on it,would your product work on that floor to make it shine a little and be more durable and adhere to our floor?Thanks
Hello Dwight! Absolutely! I will forward your info to our customer service rep who will reach out to you to discuss what type of no-wax factory finish is already on it. It’s all about the prep!
Hello so once this sealer for Lvp is applied will the sealer fail and need to be strip off like a wax ?
Hi Bob! The beautiful thing is that EPIC looks as great as it did when first applied for up to 3-5 years or longer (areas with frequent heavy foot traffic, moving equipment, and so on tend to wear down somewhat more quickly). EPIC does not typically need to be removed/stripped prior to recoating, so it can be recoated much easier and faster. Prior to recoating, it is recommended to simply clean it thoroughly with Microfiber Scrub Pads (which will not abrade EPIC®, are efficient at removing dirt and scuffs, and are ideal for difficult-to-clean textured floors such as “wood look” LVT floors with three-dimensional grain patterns). If you have any questions, please reach out to our customer service rep, Chris, at chrisd@ultradt.com. Hope this helps! 🙂