What Is Strip & Seal?

The proper way to restore and protect hard floors

Floor polishing — strip & seal, as the trade calls it — takes off every layer of old, discoloured sealer and built-up polish, then rebuilds the floor with fresh commercial-grade coats and buffs them to a shine that actually holds.

Vinyl, lino and VCT floors don't stay bright on their own. Trolleys, chair castors and the grit walked in off the footpath wear the sealer through, and once that coating breaks down, dirt grinds straight into the surface underneath. The floor turns grey and patchy, soils faster than it used to, and no amount of mopping brings it back — because what you're cleaning is a finish that has already gone.

A strip & seal breaks that cycle properly. We take the floor back to bare surface, lay down multiple coats of quality sealer, then finish with a high-speed buff. What you get is a bright, even floor that's easier to clean, better protected against scuffs and spills, and genuinely ready for visitors — a shopfront, a school corridor, a clinic waiting room or a reception people walk through all day.

Brings dull, worn vinyl and hard floors back to a like-new shine
A tough protective coating that resists scuffs, spills and stains
Non-slip finish options for safer, compliant walkways
After-hours and weekend work, so you don't lose a day's trading

High-Gloss, Durable FinishStripped, sealed & buffed by trained cleaners

What's Included

Everything in a SiteWorx strip & seal

A complete, methodical process — nothing skipped — so your floors are restored properly and protected for the long haul.

Light furniture, fixtures and floor mats moved, then the area masked and prepped
Old sealer and built-up polish stripped right back to the bare floor
Edges, corners and skirting lines cut in by hand, where machines can't reach
Deep clean to lift trapped grime, then a neutralise to kill off stripper residue
Thorough rinse and a full dry before a drop of new coating goes down
Multiple coats of commercial-grade sealer, applied one careful coat at a time
Proper dry time between every coat, for a smooth and even build
High-speed buff to bring up a durable, even, high-gloss finish
Non-slip finish options where safety and compliance come first
Wet areas signposted and the site left safe while the floor cures
Furniture reset carefully and a final walk-through with you on completion
Eco-friendly products and tidy, considerate work on your premises

Choosing The Right Treatment

Strip & seal, or just a buff? Which one do you need?

Not every tired floor needs the full treatment — and paying for a strip when a recoat would have done the job is money down the drain. Here's how to read what your floor is actually asking for.

Full strip & seal

Best suited to: floors where the sealer has worn through to bare vinyl in the walkways, yellowed or greyed off, or built up into a thick, patchy layer that simply won't come clean.
Everything comes off — old sealer, trapped grime, the lot — and the floor is rebuilt from the bare surface with fresh coats and a full buff. The giveaway is dull tracks worn through the middle of the room while the quiet edges still look glossy.

Scrub & recoat

Best suited to: floors where the finish is still sound and well bonded — no bare patches showing through — but the surface has gone flat, scuffed and tired.
We machine scrub away the dirt and the worn top layer, then lay one or two fresh coats over the good base underneath. Quicker and gentler on the floor than a full strip, and catching it at this stage stretches out the time between strips.

Buff & polish

Best suited to: floors with plenty of coating still on them that have just lost their shine — light scuff marks and traffic haze, but no real wear.
A high-speed buff works fine scratches out and lifts the gloss back up out of the finish that's already there. It's the lightest option on this list and the one most sites underuse — a buff between visits keeps a sealed floor looking freshly done.

One-off restoration

Best suited to: end-of-lease handovers, post-fit-out clean-ups, pre-handover inspections — any floor that has to be presentation-ready by a date.
Usually a full strip & seal, with the trades' leftovers dealt with first: adhesive residue, paint spots, plaster dust and tape marks. We work back from your deadline and go in after hours if that's what it takes to hit it.

Still not sure? Send us a photo or let us walk the floor — we'll tell you straight which one it needs, even when that's the lighter option — ask for a free quote.

Who We Clean For

Floors we bring back across Melbourne

Wherever a hard floor takes real foot traffic and still has to look the part, strip & seal earns its keep.

Retail & Showrooms

Offices & Corporate Suites

Schools & Training Centres

Medical & Consulting Rooms

Aged Care & Community

Hospitality & Clubs

Why SiteWorx

Strip & seal done right the first time

Floor sealing is as much about preparation and patience as it is about product — and that's exactly where corners get cut. Not here.

A Finish That Lasts

A proper strip, multiple sealer coats and a high-speed buff give you a deep, even gloss that stands up to real foot traffic — not a rushed top-coat that dulls off in a fortnight.

The Prep Isn't Rushed

Most bad seal jobs fail at the prep, not the product. We strip fully, neutralise, rinse and dry — because sealer laid over residue or damp will peel, cloud or lift.

Insured & Police-Checked

Fully insured with public liability cover, and every cleaner is police-checked, trained and supervised — worth knowing when we're on site after hours with your keys.

Minimal Disruption

Evenings, weekends, school holidays, shutdown periods — we schedule the work so the floor is stripped, sealed and cured before your doors open again.

Safer, Eco-Friendly Products

We use environmentally responsible products wherever we can, offer non-slip finishes, and signpost wet areas to keep your staff and visitors safe while the floor sets.

Satisfaction Guarantee

If any part of the finish isn't right, tell us and we'll come back and sort it out. That's our 100% satisfaction guarantee, and we mean it.

How It Works

Our floor polishing process

Four straightforward steps from first enquiry to a freshly sealed, protected floor.

Enquiry

Call or request a free quote and tell us the floor type, roughly how many square metres, and how the space gets used.

Assessment & Plan

We inspect the floor, confirm which treatment it actually needs, and set the coats, timing and access to suit your site.

Strip, Seal & Buff

We strip the old coating, deep clean and neutralise, lay fresh sealer coat by coat, then buff up the finish.

Quality Check

We walk the finished floor with you, reset the furniture, and follow up to make sure you're completely happy with it.

Good to Know

Floor polishing FAQs

Strip & seal is a two-part restoration. First we strip off the old, worn sealer and built-up polish, then deep clean and rinse the bare floor. Once it's fully dry we rebuild the protection with several coats of commercial-grade sealer and buff it to a high-gloss finish. It's the proper way to renew a hard floor rather than just cleaning over a coating that has already broken down.

We typically apply multiple coats, building the finish up gradually with proper dry time between each. The exact number depends on the floor type, its condition and how much traffic it takes — busier areas benefit from additional coats for extra durability. We'll confirm the recommended build for your floor at the assessment.

Light foot traffic is usually fine within a few hours of the last coat, but the sealer keeps hardening well after it feels dry underfoot. As a general guide we suggest keeping furniture, mats and trolleys off for around 24 to 48 hours where you can — dragging a desk across a coating that hasn't cured is the quickest way to undo the work. Conditions on the day affect it, so we'll give you realistic timings for your site rather than a blanket promise.

As a guide, most commercial vinyl and hard floors do well on a full strip & seal every 6 to 12 months — busy retail floors and reception areas sit at the shorter end, quieter offices at the longer. It's a guide, not a rule: the honest answer is that the floor tells you when it's due. Regular scrubbing and buffing in between will stretch that interval out considerably.

Strip & seal suits vinyl, lino, VCT and most sealed hard floors — the sort you'll find in retail, offices, schools, clinics and aged-care facilities. Timber is a different animal and we assess it case by case, because it generally calls for a different process rather than a strip. Send us a photo or let us take a look and we'll tell you what your floor actually needs.

Yes, and for strip & seal it's usually the smart move. The floor needs to be off-limits while it's coated and curing, so we'll often go in on a Friday night, over a weekend, during school holidays or across a shutdown period. That way the work is done and set before your doors open, and you don't lose a day's trading over it.

Here's the honest answer: strip & seal restores the finish, not the floor itself. Light scuffs, traffic haze and fine surface scratches disappear into the new coating and the floor comes up beautifully. But deep gouges, torn or lifted vinyl, burns and worn-out tiles are damage to the material underneath — fresh sealer will make them look better, not make them go away. We'd rather tell you that at the assessment than have you expect a miracle.

We do. A high-gloss floor looks fantastic, but in an entryway, a kitchen, a clinic or an aged-care corridor, slip resistance matters more than shine. We'll talk through non-slip options for the areas that need them, and we always signpost wet areas while we're working so nobody walks into trouble.

We won't guess a number before seeing the floor. The main factors are the area in square metres, the floor's current condition and how much old coating has to come off, how many coats it needs, how much furniture has to be shifted, how cut-up the space is with edges and corners, and whether the job runs after hours. A scrub and recoat costs less than a full strip, which is why the assessment matters. We'll walk it or talk it through, then send a clear, tailored quote with no obligation — usually within 24 hours.

We strip and seal floors right across Melbourne and Victoria, including the south-east suburbs around our Clyde North base — Cranbourne, Berwick, Dandenong, Pakenham and out beyond. If you're not sure whether we reach your site, just ask.

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Ready to bring your floors back to a brilliant shine?

Tell us about your floors and site, and we'll put together a tailored strip & seal plan and competitive quote — usually within 24 hours.

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Floor Polishing (Strip & Seal) That Brings Vinyl & Hard Floors Back to Life