# Vinyl Floor Seam Sealer?



## Trese (Aug 11, 2011)

Am going to patch some damage in a linoleum floor with a remnant. Researching this led to many vids - all said after adhering down the patch (and cleaning) to use vinyl floor seam sealer along the seam to keep water out (like when washing the floor). 

Trouble is, can't find this product anywhere. Not at Home Depot, Lowe's or Ace. All have seam adhesive but not seam sealer. The stuff I am looking for goes ON TOP of the seam, not under it.

Does anyone have a link to somewhere that sells a small bottle of this? I could only find an industrial can, that you then have to buy a Crain's empty applicator bottle for... the empty applicator alone is $12... if it had sealer in it, that would be fine. TIA.

EDIT: Never mind - called a carpet/flooring place and they didn't have it but gave me the # of a local flooring supply place that does. I would have deleted this post but didn't see a button for it.


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

Glad you found it. It always pays to check a real flooring store. Be aware there are two different basic types of vinyl seam sealer, epoxy (acrylic) and latex, they are not interchangeable. 
Also, different vinyls can use a different method. Some suggest that the sealer goes between the edges, some say on top. One vinyl always wanted a wide band of sealer under the seam. 
There are also glossy and matte sealers, at least when I was installing vinyl a lot, there was.


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## Trese (Aug 11, 2011)

rusty baker said:


> Glad you found it. It always pays to check a real flooring store.


Actually when I got down there, it was the wrong thing. It was seam adhesive, not seam sealer.

Back home I found an example of what I was looking for -- an Armstrong product, (S-564 low gloss, S-595 high gloss) and they call it a *seam coating kit*. In repair videos and how-to articles they all refer to it as "seam sealer." See 5 min mark for example [though he is using a different brand that I could only find in industrial quantities].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qap-S104KaU 

This causes confusion since the adhesives are referred to as sealers too. So it's too bad it isn't referred to as a seam coating kit in videos and articles. 

But no one had it! Called Armstrong feeling crazy since this product is necessary with all vinyl floor repairs, and billions of miles of vinyl floor is installed all over this country, it's mentioned in every article and video online, yet no one locally has heard of a seam coating product and no one has it!

Turned out S-564 and S-595 were discontinued in 2012! Now they only make one seam coating kit, S-500 and I was told it is low gloss (which I need anyway).

http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/floor-care/seam-coating-kit-s-500/product-141120.asp

So called back the flooring place, gave them the info and product to special order for me, and they thanked me and ordered a case of it since they said other customers had asked for a seam sealer before (not the adhesive) and they weren't really aware of what it was... 



> Also, different vinyls can use a different method. Some suggest that the sealer goes between the edges, [...]. One vinyl always wanted a wide band of sealer under the seam.


Yes, those are the adhesive products. The one that goes "on top" is the coating product. Maybe it's used on newly installed floors at seams too, I wouldn't know. I only know it's recommended for repairs, for sure. 

Who woulda thought getting one little product for a common patch job would be so troublesome!


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

A true seam sealer is not an adhesive. It is used to keep debris out of the seam. There are just several ways of applying it depending on the vinyl. It's a shame that Armstrong discontinued those sealers. They were the best available.


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

Mannington MHS22 Urethane is a good one


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## Trese (Aug 11, 2011)

rusty baker said:


> A true seam sealer is not an adhesive. It is used to keep debris out of the seam. There are just several ways of applying it depending on the vinyl. It's a shame that Armstrong discontinued those sealers. They were the best available.


Sorry, I wasn't able to return until now. To be clear, Armstrong is still making S-500. That's the only one. The rest have been discontinued. The only difference between them was the gloss factor, from what I could tell. They used to have high gloss and low gloss sealers... not there's just 500 which they told me was low gloss.


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## Trese (Aug 11, 2011)

rusty baker said:


> Mannington MHS22 Urethane is a good one


Good to know for readers looking for a high gloss sealer, as the MHS22 is high gloss. (Maybe that's what the "H" stands for? I looked it up and it says high gloss anyway.) 

I happened to need low gloss, so the Armstrong s-500 should work fine. I have it on order... 

For readers this thread covers both needs now. If someone needs a high gloss sealer go with MHS22... if you need a low gloss sealer go with Armstrong S-500.


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## JazMan (Feb 17, 2007)

Every manufacturer makes "seam sealer" "seal weld" "seam coating" etc. for their own floors. They make them in pint sizes for pros and individual use in blister package for DIY. It's best not to interchange the brands. 

Jaz


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## Trese (Aug 11, 2011)

JazMan said:


> Every manufacturer makes "seam sealer" "seal weld" "seam coating" etc. for their own floors. They make them in pint sizes for pros and individual use in blister package for DIY. It's best not to interchange the brands.
> 
> Jaz


I have no idea who made this linoleum. It was probably purchased at Lowes or Home Depot some 20 years ago. On the back of the remnant there is only a partial manuf stamp that says:

[cut here so only this part left] ...UE AU CANADA


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

check Domco. , It is made in Canada.


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