Future (Pledge Floor Care) is it gone for good?

[Wug]

The last time I checked a supermarket, the acrylic floor covering we all love was gone. There was a Pledge product for floors but it was a cleaner not an acrylic clear coat. I chalked it up to COVID-19 shortages.

An Alclad video seemed to claim that Future is gone for good and promoted on of their products as a replacement.

Is this true?

[aitala]

I'm wondering is https://www.pledge.com/en-us/products/p ... loor-gloss is the same product ? I can't find my old bottle of Future to compare the ingredients listed on https://www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com/us ... oor-Finish

The Cleaner is definitely not equivalent to Future.

Eric

[aitala]

Took a couple extra Google searches, but https://finescale.com/how-to/tips/2018/ ... a-new-name

Eric

I'm wondering is https://www.pledge.com/en-us/products/p ... loor-gloss is the same product ? I can't find my old bottle of Future to compare the ingredients listed on https://www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com/us ... oor-Finish

The Cleaner is definitely not equivalent to Future.

Eric

[gsb5w]

I found the rebranded pledge acrylic floor wax at Walmart and at a hardware store in the paint thinner section in April.

I also saw that cleaner you mentioned at a Food Lion grocery store.

I will presume it’s the same as Future.

I have a bottle labeled Pledge with future that I’ve been using for years and it’s still 3/4 full.

If you need me to pick a bottle up for you let me know just pm me.

[Kylwell]

The acrylic component, according to the SDS/MSDS, has been removed from the latest iteration.

That being said Alclad II's gloss aqueous is phenomenal.

[Wug]

Kylwell,

Thanks for looking this up. Your saying Pledge Floor Gloss:

https://www.pledge.com/en-us/products/p ... loor-gloss

Is not the same as the Future we knew and loved and that our cherished acrylic floor covering is gone for good. So FineScale is wrong about this?

I'm sure the Alclad product is nice, but to me one of the best things about Future is that it was so inexpensive you could pour about three or four model paint bottles worth into a jar to dunk coat canopies.

Future was made for coating for vinyl floors. Pledge Floor Gloss appears to be for wood floors. Does anyone make an acrylic coating for vinyl floors?

I also wonder if other brands of acrylic clear perform similarly.

Mike

[DaveVan]

Kylwell,

Thanks for looking this up. Your saying Pledge Floor Gloss:

Is not the same as the Future we knew and loved and that our cherished acrylic floor covering is gone for good. So FineScale is wrong about this?

I'm sure the Alclad product is nice, but to me one of the best things about Future is that it was so inexpensive you could pour about three or four model paint bottles worth into a jar to dunk coat canopies.

Future was made for coating for vinyl floors. Pledge Floor Gloss appears to be for wood floors. Does anyone make an acrylic coating for vinyl floors?

I also wonder if other brands of acrylic clear perform similarly.

Mike

Been using Future/Pledge since 1981 when I saw a demo at a IPMS meet. I have 1/3 of a bottle left right now. I hate to think I can't get something that works the same and costs me $4 for a 5 year supply. Looks like I'll need to try the new stuff....we'll see.

[seam-filler]

Future was made for coating for vinyl floors. Pledge Floor Gloss appears to be for wood floors. Does anyone make an acrylic coating for vinyl floors?

I also wonder if other brands of acrylic clear perform similarly.

There do, indeed, appear to be several brands of acrylic floor varnish out there - a quick search on Google turns up loads. I've not given any of them a go, largely because they are available only in industrial quantities (5 litres plus) and while litre for litre they may be very cheap, the initial outlay for a large volume of something that my not be any good doesn't appeal.

Perhaps when I'm feeling a bit less poor I'll give one of them a shot.

[naoto]

https://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75ishimmer.phtml

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live ... -wax/n8625

[Kylwell]

Kylwell,

Thanks for looking this up. Your saying Pledge Floor Gloss:

https://www.pledge.com/en-us/products/p ... loor-gloss

Is not the same as the Future we knew and loved and that our cherished acrylic floor covering is gone for good. So FineScale is wrong about this?

I'm sure the Alclad product is nice, but to me one of the best things about Future is that it was so inexpensive you could pour about three or four model paint bottles worth into a jar to dunk coat canopies.

Future was made for coating for vinyl floors. Pledge Floor Gloss appears to be for wood floors. Does anyone make an acrylic coating for vinyl floors?

I also wonder if other brands of acrylic clear perform similarly.

Mike

Unless they've buried the acrylic polymer in the "Proprietary Film Former" it is no longer listed in the SDS/MSDS. Having tried the latest branding I can't say it works as well. It'll give you a gloss coat, but only after numerous coats. With vinyl flooring going the way of the dodo I can see why they would change up the formula.

[gsb5w]

Lookup florymodels on YouTube. He has a video named Kleer but he talks about the pledge product on there. He feels it’s the best thing since future and actually thinks it is future.

[Kylwell]

Lookup florymodels on YouTube. He has a video named Kleer but he talks about the pledge product on there. He feels it’s the best thing since future and actually thinks it is future.

Kleer was, may still be, the European version of Future. Never though to check if they had changed the formula.

[seam-filler]

Lookup florymodels on YouTube. He has a video named Kleer but he talks about the pledge product on there. He feels it’s the best thing since future and actually thinks it is future.

Kleer was, may still be, the European version of Future. Never though to check if they had changed the formula.

Yes, they have changed it - and not for the better. In the UK it is no longer called Kleer but is now Pledge Revive It Floor Gloss. They are unspecific about the constituents of the film former but it certainly doesn't perform as well as old-style Kleer/Future. It not only sucks, it stinks because they've added a lemon scent.

If you see a dusty bottle of Kleer in some old hardware shop or corner store - grab it 'cos it's the old stuff!

[naoto]

...
Yes, they have changed it - and not for the better. In the UK it is no longer called Kleer but is now Pledge Revive It Floor Gloss. They are unspecific about the constituents of the film former but it certainly doesn't perform as well as old-style Kleer/Future. It not only sucks, it stinks because they've added a lemon scent.
...

Hrm... lemon scent... that sounds strangely familiar... the first time I'd seen that "non-toxic" model glue, it too claimed to be "lemon scented"... it didn't stick things very well.

[DaveVan]

I bought a bottle of the 'new' stuff. Same bottle, looks the same, smells just like the stuff I have used for 40 years.......I'll try it ASAP and let you know what I think. I hope it works as I am down to a 1/4 bottle of the 'good' stuff.

[gsb5w]

Yes please let us know. Based on the video I saw, I think it will work like your old batch.

[Wug]

DaveVan,

Please let us know.

Johnson & Johnson has an 800 number.

800-558-5252
https://contact.scjbrands.com/en-us

I'm on a prepay and don't want to burn up tens of dollars of phone time only to talk to an operator who doesn't have access to the information needed to answer my question.

Mike

[Rogviler]

Anyone tried these? If not, I might. Both are water-based and look promising.

[Rogviler]

Apparently Quick Shine has been used quite a bit in modeling so I'm gonna try some.

[Wug]

Thanks

[Rogviler]

I ended up getting both of those products just because I always like a good taste test. Interestingly, they're both similar to each other in that they come out milky like Mod Podge, rather than clear like Future. The Weiman doesn't have as much of a smell but Quick Shine smells strongly. Both smell reminiscent of Future but lack that perfumy overtone that Future has. Both are very liquid and should be no problem airbrushing as you would with Future. One weird thing is that Weiman had a propensity to create suds, as if there was a little soap in it, and the bubbles didn't want to go away on their own.

Mixability: I primarily use Future as an additive for acrylic paint to aid in flow and leveling when brushing by hand and can say that both of the other products do that just as well. Both mix just fine with no separation.

Durability: When applied to a glossy plastic surface, Quick Shine is the definite winner when it comes to a fingernail scratch test. I would say it has 2x the adhesion of Weiman.

Drying time: Future dries super fast, but both of the other products were still wet after several minutes, so I heeded the "45-60 minutes" dry time on the bottles (same for both). Unfortunately my bottle of Future is old and no longer has a label so I can't say what its drying time is supposed to be. From experience in a hobby setting it's usually dry to the touch within a couple of minutes and definitely not wet after that time.

Clarity: Both dry clear, although neither is quite as clear as Future. I buffed 3 clear styrene samples to make them frosted and then dipped one in each product. Finally a test I can photograph...



Left is my 20-year-old bottle of Future, Quick Shine in the middle, and Weiman last. You can see the Future is deadass clear, as we all expect, while the others are less so. Quick Shine is definitely clearer than Weiman, though it may by hard to tell in the picture. Also noticeable is the crispness of the shine on the Future. The others are shiny but not high gloss.

My conclusion is neither would replace Future perfectly, but either would do if you can't get Future anymore. Winner between the two is Quick Shine, which is incidentally the cheaper one at $8. Weiman is about $12.

[southwestforests]

Ah, noted. Thanks for making the effort to do and share that test.

[Rogviler]

TLDR: I would use either of those products wherever I didn't need the properties specific to Future (clarity & gloss) in order to prolong my supply of NLA Future, such as a base for decals or, in my case, altering the properties of paint without watering it down.

I'll keep an eye out for other similar products to try out.

[Wug]

Thanks Rogviler,

Thanks for doing the tests to provide us with facts.

Mike

[Rogviler]

You're welcome!