As I continue to scrub, seal and polish the stained concrete floor, my system has continually changed. The steamer is definitely the effective tool here. I’ve been steaming the whole floor with the standing attachment and wiping after steaming an area that I can reach to get the dirt off.
Steaming master bedroom floor
Then I went over the spots of paint and sticky stuff which I think was Great Stuff drips with mineral spirits and a razor blade in some spots then attacked the remaining stains with the steamer hand brush again wiping after steaming an area.
Hand steaming spots
After cleaning the whole floor again with the recommended Zep neutral cleaner, I finally sealed the floor using a natural lambs wool pad which was much better at spreading the sealer without bubbling than a mop or fiber pad.
Sealed floor
The last step is four coats of the Zep Wet Look Polish. These are easy to put on with the disposable microfiber pads as they dry in 30 minutes. The master bedroom floor and closet floor have been finished. There will be tile on the bathroom floor so it was only sealed not polished.
I cleaned and polished the floor with an 18″ Rubbermaid microfiber flat mop. The mop base is covered with heavy duty velcro which holds the different mop heads. To mop the floor I used the reusable blue pad and to polish I used the disposable white pad. I just poured the polish directly on the floor and spread it thinly with the mop. I have the commercial mop head but I can only find it now on the spray mop. It is a sturdier head than the new model on the plain mop.
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Polished floor
The last room to finish is the living room. Instead of starting with the standing steamer attachment, I started with the hand brush attachment on the spots. I found that if I used the steamer on the spots first there would be fewer to try to clean with mineral spirits. I also tried denatured alcohol and acetone, but mineral spirits seemed to work the best although not perfectly.