Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the fourth busiest airport in the United States, with more than 63.5 million passengers passing through the facility in 2014. Because the airport’s over 5 million square feet of epoxy terrazzo flooring is exposed to constant foot traffic, it takes quite a beating, which has resulted in the need for continuous maintenance.

“The floors had been heavily waxed and were yellowing badly. They were having to strip and wax often, which is a costly procedure,” says WerkMaster president Brian Wilson, whose company’s epoxy terrazzo restoration system is being used to restore the floors. “By grinding off the old wax and mechanically polishing the terrazzo to a high shine, we are able to achieve the aesthetics they wanted. And by adding a sealer, they no longer need to wax the floor, thus reducing the maintenance costs.”

DFW Airport Authority recently awarded contracts to ERMC of Forth Worth and Corporate Floors of Dallas to refinish the epoxy terrazzo flooring in Terminals E and D using WerkMaster’s Titan XT, which can be used wet or dry to grind and polish epoxy terrazzo and concrete floors. The machine’s eight counter-rotating heads can be equipped with metal bond or hybrid diamond abrasive tooling to polish surfaces to the desired shine and clarity.

“The advantages realized using our system include the ability to remove up to 50 coats of wax, dry, eliminating wet chemical stripping and significantly increasing production. The WerkMaster Titan’s Octi-Disc eight-head technology allows the machine to safely grind and polish over the metal strips inlaid in the floor while edging to within 1/8 inch of the wall. The floor was restored to the original color and look while removing or reducing numerous high spots. Flattening the floor improves clarity, reflectivity and reduces excess wear and maintenance,” says Wilson.

Instead of floor wax, WerkMaster’s UltraGuard stain and wear protector, a VOC-free acrylic sealer specifically designed to allow terrazzo, stone and concrete surfaces to breathe, is being tested in one area of the airport. “By protecting their floors with UltraGuard, they will never wax again. It is easy to maintain, giving them lower maintenance costs, a slip factor rating of 7 on the James scale, and resistance to acid, vinegar, pop, and all other common acidic and staining products for a minimum of 24 hours without etching,” says Wilson.

Maintenance of the floors is now a simple matter of routine autoscrubbing with WerkMaster’s UltraClean HiLite, which will maintain both the hardness of the UltraGuard and the anti-slip quality of the finish.

Floor refinishing contractors:
ERMC Aviation Services, Fort Worth, Texas
Corporate Floors Inc., Dallas, Texas

Materials and equipment used:
Terrazzo floor grinder/polisher: WerkMaster Titan XT
Acrylic sealer: WerkMaster UltraGuard
Cleaner: WerkMaster UltraClean HiLite