3M Scotch Brite Disc Usage Guide by Floor Type

The 3M Scotch-Brite range of single-disc and automatic scrubber-dryer pads is one of the widest on the professional market. For this reason, a guide to using the pads by floor type is essential to avoid damaging surfaces or equipment. This guide will help you choose the right color and abrasiveness of cleaning pad for your specific floor type.

Which disc per floor type for single-disc and automatic scrubber dryers?

Before using any machine such as a single-disc floor scrubber or automatic scrubber-dryer , and therefore abrasive discs, it is IMPERATIVE to have the flooring technical data sheet issued by the manufacturer. This eliminates any doubt regarding the type of flooring, whether it has been factory-treated, and all the recommendations and RESTRICTIONS listed by the manufacturer.
Failure to respect these elements can lead to irreversible damage to the support and the loss of the warranty offered by the manufacturer.
The 3M Scotch Brite disc range offers a solution adapted to each floor for professional maintenance while preserving your surfaces.

Which discs for flexible protected thermoplastic flooring

Flexible thermoplastic flooring is a type of flooring that is mainly found in public spaces and offices.
It is delivered unfinished and therefore requires protection. This type of coating requires "protection" or "metallization" to extend its lifespan and facilitate maintenance. Here are the disc recommendations to use for the operations you will be performing.

Which discs are suitable for unprotected, flexible thermoplastic flooring?

3M's range of floor stripping discs is extensive, offering solutions adapted to each surface.
The 3M™ Scotch-Brite™ SPP+ disc for stripping thermoplastic floors without chemical stripper.
The 3M™ Scotch-Brite™ Clean&Shine 2 in 1 disc cleans and shines at the same time.

Which discs for hard protected thermoplastic flooring

Which discs for unprotected hard thermoplastic flooring

Our advice: the green floor cleaning pad , generally used for floor washing, is suitable for all industrial floors thanks to its open structure, even heavily soiled plastic floors. Hand or machine washable (30°C).

Which discs for factory-protected thermoplastic flooring?

The distinguishing feature of new generations of thermoplastic flooring is its factory-applied "metallization." Therefore, it is crucial to understand that this type of flooring should not be stripped unless specifically instructed by the manufacturer on the maintenance sheets.
Maintenance is therefore reduced since it eliminates the tedious, costly stripping operations which can degrade the soil over time through chemical and mechanical action.

Which discs for matte tiles?

Maintaining a matte tiled floor involves two steps: stripping when the floor is heavily soiled and washing for regular upkeep. These tasks can be done with a single-disc floor machine, but a scrubber-dryer is more efficient, ensuring a dry floor immediately after use. For small areas (shops, restaurants, hallways, waiting rooms, etc.), compact battery-powered scrubber-dryers like the Numatic 440NX , Duplex 340 , or Taski Ultimaxx 360 are ideal.

Which discs are best for glossy tiles?

Which discs are suitable for a terracotta floor?

Terracotta is a material that requires the use of appropriate products, especially discs that will not damage your floor.

Which discs are best for waxed parquet flooring?

Maintaining a waxed parquet floor requires specific discs and, above all, an abrasive grit suited to the desired task. Indeed , parquet flooring discs or grits are available in various grits to allow for successive cleaning steps.

Which discs are suitable for varnished or lacquered parquet flooring?

Which discs for marble and marble work

Marble and reconstituted stone are primarily composed of limestone. Marble, like terracotta tiles, is considered a "living" stone, meaning that floor treatment must allow the stone to "breathe." Therefore, specific crystallization protocols are necessary, either mechanically, with or without chemicals, to transform the surface into hard, and ideally glossy, crystals. Using 3M sienna or mauvecrystallization discs guarantees results, unlike the traditional steel wool method, which requires more technical skill and sometimes yields uncertain outcomes.
Our advice:
Rediscover the brilliance of marble thanks to the mechanical action of the Sienna Earth discs for the
Soil preparation followed by Mauve for increased brightness.
Trizact Diamond Discs: Specialist in restoring floors with scratches.
Perfect before applying ScotchGard™ Stone protection.

3M Scotch-Brite Pad Aggressiveness Scale

The level of aggressiveness and therefore abrasion of a disc is recognizable by its color, whether it is from 3M or other manufacturers like Janex.
To better understand the differences between the colors, this summary table allows you to grade this aggressiveness.

Which disc per operation and soil type

In the previous section, the approach was to start with the type of flooring to list the possible operations and associated recommendations in terms of abrasive discs. In this section, we will proceed by considering the type of operation to be performed (stripping, polishing, cleaning, etc.) and cross-referencing this with the type of flooring to provide you with disc usage recommendations.

Which discs are best for floor stripping?

Our advice: The Hi-Pro disc, which is very aggressive, is the solution for stripping heavily soiled floors if the black disc hasn't been sufficient. Use with caution.