Blog / How to Choose the Right Surface Protection Product

May 19, 2021

Protect Your Surfaces

Making sure you properly protect your job before any work begins can be the difference between a swift and timely completion and a preventable disaster costing you time and money. Being prepared not only leaves you room for inevitable mistakes, but also advertises to your customers that you care about their assets. Whatever your profession, you always need to protect your client’s property, whether it’s countertops or hardwood floors. One of the easiest ways to protect yourself from the potential of damage created on the job is to use a dependable surface protection product.

Different jobs, like home remodels, require different levels of protection. When choosing surface and floor protection, it can be difficult to know where to start. Some things to consider are the demands of your job, length and type of work, type of surface and who will be on the job.

Below, we go through the different levels of protection, and specific products that fit into each category depending on the scenario. Explore how to determine which surface protection product will fit the needs of your job.

Varying levels and types of hard surface protection

Lightweight Protection

Paint jobs or jobs where there will be minimal foot traffic, canvas dropcloths, surface protection films and paper products, such as red rosin paper and builders paper, are perfectly suitable. To ensure a safe working environment, we suggest using the Stay Put® Canvas Plus or Smart Grip®, two of our slip resistant dropcloths. Traditional canvas has the tendency to slip and slide around, creating a hazardous work condition for anyone on the job. Upgrade to a slip resistant option to help keep your surfaces and your crew protected. Additionally, lightweight products will help protect floors and surfaces from small paint spills and splatters.

Medium Weight Protection

Medium weight protection products, such as X•Paper® and X•Board® (also known as the X•Team), are suitable for multiple day or week long jobs with heavy foot traffic. These products will also protect hard surfaces from heavy equipment, such as forklifts, and materials. Use on surfaces such as hardwood flooring, vinyl flooring, linoleum flooring, laminate flooring, concrete floors, and more to provide solid protection during the painting, building or remodeling process.

Heavy Duty Protection

Lengthy jobs or situations where fork and scissor lifts will be present, you can rely on the heavy duty surface protectors to keep your surfaces in pristine shape. Heavy duty surface protection products are highly impact resistant and durable. For these types of jobs, we suggest using Aqua Shield® or FloorShell®. These products will last the length of your job and can withstand the toughest conditions.

Heavy Duty Surface Protection Board Comparison

Still unsure of which surface protection product might be right for your job? The following video demoing liquid resistance and thickness will assist in determining which product will suit your needs.

No matter the job, proper jobsite protection is necessary to avoid any major mistakes. Trimaco has you covered. Browse our array of products for all your temporary surface protection needs, like surface protective film, masking tape, and plastic sheeting.

Need additional help choosing the right surface protector for your job? Use Trimaco’s product selector to help narrow down your options, based on your specific needs!