Arena 300 Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating

Arena 300 Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating

Get the most out of your wood floors with Arena® 300 Microban® Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating. Arena 300 is a water-based wood floor coating that utilizes Microban antimicrobial product protection to help inhibit the growth of bacteria. Its exceptional durability and quick dry time make it the best option for schools looking to recoat their gym floors any time of year.

Antimicrobial Protection 

Built into Arena 300 during the manufacturing process, Microban protection continuously fights the growth of microbes on the product surface. Microban protection penetrates the cell wall of the microorganism and disrupts the cell, making the microorganism unable to grow and reproduce. For schools that are looking for an added level of proactive antimicrobial protection, Arena 300 is the perfect fit. Microban protection continuously fights the growth of microbes, and makes wood floors easier to clean – keeping them cleaner, longer at no additional cost. This added protection empowers schools, creating a cleaner learning environment for students.*

Water-Based Wood Floor Coating

Water-based wood floor coatings like Arena 300 have very low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Reflections’ water-based wood floor coatings have some of the lowest VOCs of any wood floor coating on the market. With such low VOCs, gym floors can be recoated during the school year and even prepped during school hours. Arena 300 provides exceptional durability and shine, scuff and scratch resistance, and superior film hardness. It’s quick dry time and extremely mild scent make it ideal for schools that need to schedule gym floor recoating around sporting events and other school functions.

Reflections Wood Floor Program

Arena 300 is part of the Reflections Wood Floor Program, an easy to follow, cost effective wood floor care program that provides years of beauty, safety, and durability for your wood floors. Alongside exceptional products like Arena 300, Reflections provides professional training for your staff, catered to the needs of your gym floor. Learn more about Arena 300 and wood floor care by contacting a local representative today*Microban technology does not protect users against disease-causing microorganisms. Microban Products Company makes neither direct nor implied public health claims. Normal cleaning practices should be maintained.

Recoating Wood Floors in House

Recoating Wood Floors in House

Oftentimes, facility maintenance managers will hire contractors to recoat their gyms floors. Because wood floors can be one of the most expensive floors in a facility, staff members don’t want to risk damaging them with improper equipment and inexperience. While recoating a wood floor does require a specific skillset, Reflections has experienced representatives who can train facility maintenance staff to recoat wood floors without compromising their quality, durability, and beauty.

Wood floor contractors can be a costly expense. By training staff members to recoat wood floors in house, facilities can cut down on costs. In person and online training are available through the Reflections Wood Floor Program to train staff members on proper technique, equipment, and products.

The Reflections® Wood Floor Program can help facilities get the most out of their wood floors. With products and procedures that can extend the life and beauty of your wood floors, Reflections creates a custom program for each facility’s unique needs. Reflections representatives assess the floor, noting things like the age of the floor, damaged areas, and previous maintenance procedures in order to create the best program for that facility.

Because the Reflections program uses equipment most facilities already have, there are no added equipment costs. Training, both in person and online, can make recoating your wood floors easier, and in some cases, faster. Reflections water-based wood floor coatings allow for light sports play on gym floors only 48 hours after recoating.

For added protection, Arena® 300 Microban® Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating utilizes Microban antimicrobial product protection to help inhibit the growth of bacteria. Microban protection is built into Arena 300 during the manufacturing process. When microbes come in contact with the product surface, Microban protection penetrates the cell wall of the microorganism and disrupts the cell, making the microorganism unable to grow and reproduce.

Once a floor has been recoated, Reflections will help facilities maintain their floors between recoats. In addition to in-person training, staff members have access to wall charts, literature, and videos that can guide them through each maintenance process. The Honors® Custodial Training Program for Schools and Universities can also help guide staff members through each process with videos, PowerPoints, and literature. Honors is available 24/7 online, and comes with additional features like tests and reporting.

Make wood floor maintenance a priority this summer. Contact your local representative to schedule a Buckeye Reflections product demonstration or host a wood floor seminar at your facility.

What Makes the Reflections Wood Floor Program Different?

What Makes the Reflections Wood Floor Program Different?

The Reflections® Wood Floor Program is built around meeting and exceeding tough environmental regulations, and manufacturing products that are easier and safer for employees to use, while also meeting the stringent expectations of Facility Administrators.

Health Safety Features

Reflections wood floor coatings do not require crosslinkers, which contain polyfunctional aziridene. Other manufacturers use this raw material to crosslink their products for durability. Unfortunately, this crosslinker can have a negative impact on the health of employees and visitors, including respiratory and nervous system health implications.

All Reflections wood floor coatings meet the strict VOC regulations of each state and are single component, 100% urethane products. Using 100% urethane products significantly improves indoor air quality, worker and visitor health safety, and reduces mixing mistakes and overall costs. 

Urethane Wood Floor Coatings

Reflections offers both water-based and oil-based wood floor coatings. When a wood floor is first installed, it’s important to keep water away while the floor boards expand, contract and stretch. For the first few years of a wood floor’s life, oil-based wood floor coatings can help fill the grooves of the new wood floor and move with the floor as it settles. Reflections’ Coliseum® Oil-Based Wood Floor Coatings are easy to apply and meet VOC compliancy in every state. They offer superior gloss, exceptional durability, and are scratch and scuff resistant.

For older wood floors, Reflections’ Arena® Water-Based Wood Floor Coatings offer the lowest VOCs, allowing for wood floors to be recoated during normal business hours. Unlike oil-based wood floor coatings, Arena Water-Based Wood Floor Coatings allow for light sports play just 48 hours after the last coat is applied and fully cure 1 week after the last coat is applied.

In addition to mild scents, high gloss, and exceptional durability, Arena® 300 with Microban® Technology provides facilities with an extra level of protection. Microban protection is built-in to Arena 300 during the manufacturing process, and provides continual 24/7 antimicrobial protection for the life of the coating while it is on your floor. Microban protection continuously fights the growth of microbes, making floors easier to clean and keeping them cleaner, longer.

Training

Our experts can help you become an expert. When you begin using the Reflections Wood Floor Program, you receive hands-on, personalized training from our expert Reflections representatives. We also provide MFMA (Maple Flooring Manufacturers Association) approved web-based and DVD training, to help guide you as you learn about recoating and maintaining your floors in-house.

Reflections is focused on providing a program that offers the best combination of appearance, application, durability, safety, VOC compliancy, and cost on the market. To learn more about wood floor care and Reflections, contact your local Buckeye representative. 

Arena 300 Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating

Arena 300 Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating

In 2018, Buckeye’s Clarion® 25 floor finish became the first floor finish to utilize Microban® antimicrobial product protection to help inhibit the growth of bacteria. Buckeye has now added Microban antimicrobial product protection to Arena® 300 Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating.

Arena 300 is a 100% urethane, water-based OMU (oil-modified urethane) wood floor coating with exceptional durability and shine. Its mild scent, superior film hardness, quick dry time, and scuff and scratch resistance make it easy to use and the preferred choice for wood floors.

As schools prepare to reopen in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping school facilities clean is more important than ever. With the addition of Microban technology, Arena 300 will keep wood floors looking their best and keep them cleaner, longer at no additional cost. Microban antimicrobial product protection helps inhibit the growth of bacteria, providing continuous protection for the useful lifetime of Arena 300. When microbes come in contact with the product surface, Microban protection penetrates the cell wall of the microorganism and disrupts the cell, making the organism unable to grow or reproduce.

Part of the Reflections Wood Floor Care Program, Arena 300 can deliver years of beauty, performance, safety, and durability. The complete Reflections program includes wood floor maintenance products and training coating and maintaining wood floors. For more information about Arena 300 or the Reflections Wood Floor Program, contact your local Buckeye representative.

Reflections Wood Floor Care Training

Reflections Wood Floor Care Training

Caring for wood floors requires time and expertise that most facilities don’t have. This is why many schools hire contractors to recoat and care for their gym floors. Because wood floors are among the most impressive features in any facility, staff members don’t want to risk destroying their beauty by attempting to recoat the floors in-house. With the proper products and training, facility managers don’t need to be concerned. The Reflections® Wood Floor Program provides products and trains staff on prepping, scrubbing, and recoating wood floors.

Oftentimes, hiring a contractor can be expensive. Facilities looking to cut down on costs while maintaining the quality of their wood floors can take advantage of the in-person, online, and video training options provided by Reflections. Reflections training includes procedures for restorative, interim, and routine wood floor care.

In addition to in-person training, staff members have access to wall charts, literature, and videos that can guide them through each maintenance process. The Honors® Custodial Training Program for Schools and Universities can also help guide staff members through each process with videos, PowerPoints, and literature. Honors is available 24/7 online, and comes with additional features like tests and reporting. Supervisors can track the progress of each staff member with reporting on test scores and the amount of video each staff member has watched. 

Since Reflections procedures work with equipment most facilities already have, there is no added cost for new equipment. The training provided by the Reflections program can make recoating your wood floors easier and, in some cases, faster. With Reflections water-based wood floor coatings, staff no longer has to wait for summer to recoat gym floors. The quick dry-times of water-based coatings mean school staff can recoat during winter or spring break, making wood floor care more convenient.

Reflections products also offer some of the lowest VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the industry, improving the indoor air quality for employees as they work. Reflections has also removed hazardous crosslinkers from their coatings. These crosslinkers can be harmful to the respiratory health of employees and visitors. With its products and training, Reflections has made recoating wood floors quick, easy, and safer for employees.

For more information on the Reflections Wood Floor Program’s training program and products, contact your local Buckeye representative

Improving Indoor Air Quality While Recoating Your Gym Floors

Improving Indoor Air Quality While Recoating Your Gym Floors

Improving the indoor air quality while recoating your gym floors can be a challenge. Recoating your school’s gym floors takes time. Oil-based wood floor coatings can take up to two weeks to fully cure. During the application and drying process, wood floor coatings can emit VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), odorous gases that can sometimes be dangerous to the health of employees or others in your school.

Limiting the amount of VOCs that are released can make a difference in the time it takes to recoat your floors. Even more importantly, it’s better for the health of employees and visitors. Reflections Coliseum® oil-modified wood urethanes have limited VOCs and Arena® water-based urethanes have some of the lowest VOC ratings of any wood floor coatings in North America. Because Arena coatings are water-based and emit less VOCs, their dry time is faster, allowing for play on gym floors only 48 hours after application.

There are other advantages to using Reflections wood floor coatings. Many well performing water-based products require the addition of a Polyfunctional Aziridine Crosslinker. This raw material is used to crosslink products for durability. However, it comes with many health concerns, including allergic reaction of the skin, lungs, and heart. With each exposure, health concerns only become greater. Reflections wood floor coatings don’t use hazardous crosslinkers, helping limit employee exposure to hazardous materials.

Preparation methods can also contribute to poor indoor air quality. Dry prepping floors can create dust that lingers in the air. If your gym floor is older, the Reflection wet screening prep method can eliminate dust. The Reflections® Wood Floor Program can help you decide the best preparation method for your floors that keeps your floors looking their best and considers the health of visitors and staff.

The Reflections Wood Floor Program prioritizes manufacturing safer-to-use products that exceed the strict environmental rules that regulate wood floor coatings. The complete program provides top-of-the-line products and procedures that keep gym floors shiny and durable without compromising employee health and safety. To learn more about the Reflections Wood Floor Program, its products, and procedures, contact your local Buckeye representative

Reflections: Water-Based Wood Floor Coatings

Reflections: Water-Based Wood Floor Coatings

The Reflections® Wood Floor Program is designed to protect wood floors of all ages. Exposure to water can negatively impact newer wood floors. However, for older wood floors, Reflections provides water-based wood floor coatings that come with added benefits.

Once you have had your wood floor for 2-3 years and the boards have had time to fill with polymer protection, graduating to a water-based wood floor coating may be the best option. After 2-3 years, the wood is no longer at risk of absorbing too much water and warping.

Reflections’ Arena® water-based wood floor coatings can speed up the recoating process. They are quick-drying, allowing sports play only 48 hours after application. Reflections Arena 300 and Arena 50 emit less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than oil-based urethanes. VOCs are odorous gases that can sometimes be dangerous to the health of employees or others in your facility.

Arena water-based wood floor coatings enable you to wet-prep and coat your floors in the same day. They have quick cure times and respond well to burnishing. They are not flammable and Arena 300 is one of the most environmentally friendly coatings in the industry, with an NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) rating of 0 for Health, Fire, and Reactivity.

With fast drying times and less VOCs, water-based coatings are the perfect fit for any facility that needs a quick turnaround. For schools, Arena wood floor coatings make it possible to recoat gym floors throughout the school year.

The Reflections Wood Floor Program comes with all the training needed for your staff to finish the job quickly and accurately. Contact your local Buckeye representative to find out if water-based wood floor coatings are the right choice for your facility.

Your Wood Floors: Oil vs. Water

Your Wood Floors: Oil vs. Water

Cure time. Floor prep. Safety. A lot can factor into coating your wood floors. Here are some things to consider before deciding which wood floor coating is best for your facility.

A Floor’s Age

Simply put, oil-based wood floor coatings are the only choice for newly installed wood floors. Because wood is composed of cellulose, it is porous enough to absorb water. This is why wood often expands when the air is moist in the summer and contracts when the air is dry in the winter. Over time, wood develops polymer protection against water. Until floors have been coated at least 4 times, it’s best to use an oil-based wood floor coating.

VOCs and Cure Time

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are odorous gases that can sometimes be dangerous to the health of employees or others in your facility.

While curing, oil-based wood floor coatings often emit more VOCs than water-based wood floor coatings. Oil-based wood floor coatings can take 2 weeks to fully cure. This means, for places like schools, wood floors must be coated in the summer to give them enough time to cure and disperse any VOCs emitted.

For water-based wood floor coatings, cure time is much quicker. Gym floors coated with a water-based wood floor coating can be played on within 2-3 days and are fully cured within a week. They also emit less VOCs while curing. Because of this, a school’s gym floor can be coated with a water-based coating over a long weekend or during spring break. This gives staff the flexibility to choose when to recoat the floors and keeps heavy odors away from teachers and students.

Burnishing

Oil-based wood floor coatings do not respond well to burnishing. However, some water-based wood floor coatings can be burnished to bring back gloss and traction to a wood floor. Buckeye’s Arena 300 responds well to burnishing, helping you regain the shine and durability of your wood floor without having to completely recoat.

Prepping the Floor

There are two ways to prepare a wood floor before coating it, wet prep and dry prep. Dry prepping your floors is not ideal because it leaves behind lots of dust. However, if you plan to use an oil-based wood floor coating and wish to prep and coat your floors on the same day, dry prepping is the only option. This is especially true for new wood floors. Wet prepping new wood floors can cause the floor boards to expand and lead to cupping and peeling. If your wood floors are new, dry prepping them before applying an oil-based coating is the best way to coat your floors.

With older floors and water-based wood floor coatings, you can wet-prep and coat the floor on the same day. This eliminates dust and saves valuable time.

Environmental Safety

Water-based coatings are not flammable. Buckeye’s Arena® 300 is one of the most environmentally safe coatings in the industry, with a NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) rating of 0 for Health, Fire, and Reactivity. Also, when you have finished coating your floors with a water-based wood floor coating like Arena 300, all tools used during the process can be cleaned with water.

For oil-based finishes, this is not the case. Oil-based coatings are flammable and once you have finished coating the floor, the tools used to complete the process must be cleaned with flammable mineral spirits. Oil-based wood floor coatings often have more significant warnings on safety data sheets and, as mentioned, emit more volatile organic compounds into the air.

Room Temperature and Humidity

Fluctuation in room temperature can often cause wood floors to expand or shrink, causing cracks and air pockets to form between boards. The Maple Floor Manufacturing Association recommends that maple wood gyms be kept at a relative humidity of 35-50% and a temperature between 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit year round. While no coatings are immune to the problems that come with changes in temperature and humidity, oil-based coatings tend to resist cracking better than water-based coatings. If your facility has difficulty regulating its temperature or relative humidity, an oil-based coating may be the best choice.

Overall Savings

In addition to the features mentioned above, oil-based wood floor coatings are often less expensive to manufacture and therefore cheaper for the end user. They also only require 1-2 coats in comparison to the 2-3 required for water-based wood floor coatings.

In contrast, the overall savings offered by water-based wood floor coatings can make a difference in your facility. Water-based coatings can save staff time when prepping the floor. Their quick cure time can make the most of your gym floor year round.

Buckeye’s Reflections® Wood Floor Program has oil-based and water-based urethanes depending on your facility’s needs. To find out more about Reflections and which wood floor coatings are right for your facility, contact your local Buckeye representative.

Are you spending too much on your wood floors?

Are you spending too much on your wood floors?

A wood floor is one of the most expensive and prestigious floor types, and is an investment that should be protected. A wood floor maintained following the Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Care Program will deliver years of beauty, performance, safety, and durability. It is also easy to follow and cost effective.

This program includes hands-on training at no cost to your facility and will extend the life of your wood floors. Buckeye Reflections products are stocked through Buckeye’s exclusive network of distributors. Reflections products do not have harsh odors, and many feature quick dry times.

Buckeye is committed to developing products that are safer for workers and the environment without sacrificing product performance. The Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Care Program provides the most environmentally safe, VOC compliant Arena® water-based wood floor coatings and high performance, VOC compliant Coliseum® oil-based wood floor coatings on the market. You can clean, abrade and recoat your wood floors utilizing existing equipment in your facility.

Contact your local representative today to customize the Reflections program for your specific needs.