I think that the old ones were always waxed so I think you are doing the right thing. As far as dealing with that sort of floor I can't be much help.
I would try older products that are designed for waxed floors. There are a couple out there still.
-renee

If you plan to replace it and don't want a lot of work, you can do what I do at my rental property. The floors there are vinyl and have no shine at all. I clean them, then do a coat or two of Mop & Glow. It needs to be reapplied periodically, and does build up over time, but it makes things shine!

I'm not sure how this would work, but you test it and see: try stripping the old liquid waxes off and applying and buffing a paste wax, like Butchers Bowling Alley wax. Requires a clean substrate, and buffing with a machine, but I think it could put shine on a sandy beach. Also you might look into products intended for the janitorial trade, for something with a longer lasting shine.

Thanks guys for all of your suggestions. I am currently using "Future" floor wax. It's okay and would be better if I could put two coats on. You have to wait 8 hours between coats and I have 3 kids, a dog, cat and a husband. So, I don't usually get the second coat on. Also, since we just got a big dog, I have his water bowl right off of the kitchen. He's sometimes messy so when the water drips from his mouth, it makes white water marks on the floor if I don't wipe them up right away. That in and of itself makes me want to just go ahead and get my new floor. But. . .

If I used the buffing paste wax, do you think it would repell the water better?

I had a new floor picked out, but the discount flooring store that I wanted install it doesn't carry that brand. Only Lowe's does. I don't know how much more Lowe's would be than the flooring store. Supposedly much cheaper. I suppose I could choose another pattern but you have no idea how long it took me to pick out the first one!!!

Sorry to ramble. . .

If you email me, I will send you photos of what I did in the same situation. I put a vinyl tile floor right over the old floor, and it is gorgeous and very appropriate for a vintage kitchen as it is an old-fashioned checkerboard-- tan and taupe. We had to move to a new state this year, and the floor was a huge selling point. the new owners plan to keep it forever.

WE've waxed old vinyl over the years for the same reason. We bought some sort of wax product at Costco -- perhaps my mom will know more, I need to remember to ask. We put 4+ coats on -- dry time was quick. Seems like we pretty much put a new coat on when we got to the end, but we were covering a lot of territory.

buckeyemom-
Just remember that if your old floor was installed before the early 1980's, it's likely got asbestos in it and/or in the adhesive, and you don't want to be just tearing that out and contaminating your house. Your choices are: 1) lay the new floor on top if the old one is well-adhered, 2) have some underlayment laid down over the old floor to provide a good surface for the new one if the old surface is badly adhered, 3) pay for a licensed abatement team to come in and remove the old floor safely. Of course, if you bring a small sample of the flooring and adhesive to an analytical lab, they can check to confirm whether asbestos is present for a modest fee. If it isn't in the floor, you can ignore me...