A floor finish applicator including a cart having wheels and a body member constructed and arranged to receive a source of floor finish. The floor finish applicator also includes a pump coupled to the cart and operable to deliver floor finish to a floor, a floor finish feed conduit in fluid communication between the pump and a container supporting floor finish, and a transmission assembly coupled to the cart. The floor finish feed conduit supplies floor finish to the pump. The transmission assembly includes an axle coupled to and driven by a wheel of the cart, a drive gear connected to the axle, a drive shaft having a driven gear for engaging the drive gear and driving the pump, and a hand-actuated spring-loaded clutch for selective engagement of the pump and the drive shaft with the axle.