The effect of polish maintenance on static coefficient of friction

The static coefficient of friction (mu(s)) of polishes, measured by the James machine and ASTM D2047, provides a measure of the inherent slip resistance of the polish film. When in use, polish films arc invariably modified by traffic and routine maintenance procedures that could, theoretically, change the inherent slip resistance of the film. Portable tribometers are not appropriate for measuring p, of polishes in traffic because they have not yet demonstrated a correlation with the James machine, so they provide no criterion for determining whether the surface is slip resistant. A protocol was developed using the James machine and a modification of ASTM D2047 to measure p, of polish films after pedestrian traffic and routine maintenance had been performed. The maintenance procedures included high speed burnishing, high speed spray buffing, low speed spray buffing, damp mopping, autoscrubbing, deep cleaning (partial stripping), dust mopping, and dry sweeping. The protocol was extended to test the effect of traffic and maintenance on mu(s). This paper also reports the mu(s) changes observed with three compositionally different but commercially typical floor finishes and two widely used commercial polishes of unknown composition.