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Our hardwood floors have lost some of their shine. Is there any off the shelf products/techniques that you'd recommend to restore their luster? Also, does anyone know a ball park price to have hardwoods buffed and re-polished (re-stained, not sure of the terminology)? Thanks.
For a temporary fix you can try the Bona system - it comes with a cleaner and then a hardwood "restorer". It will make a difference - when we sold our home in NY, people thought we'd just had our floors re-done, but it's a time commitment. You have to move your furniture and you have to do it right or it will streak (it's not hard, but good lighting helps). Then you need to give it a good 4 hours to dry and set. I did it one night after the kids were in bed.
If you decide to have a pro do it - you probably want to have them "screened" unless you really want new stain. Screening will let them just top coat with new poly.
This assumes they have polyurethane today - most floors are, although some older floors have wax.
If you decide to have a pro do it - you probably want to have them "screened" unless you really want new stain. Screening will let them just top coat with new poly.
This assumes they have polyurethane today - most floors are, although some older floors have wax.
Frank
Yep. Good post. Only sand if you have heavy wear or damage or want to re-stain or repair stained wood.
And, if furniture moving inconvenience is not a problem, screening and top coating is a good DIY for someone who is willing and fairly able.
I used a company that comes in, sands and applys a finish. It was soooo much cheaper than having the floor sanded and new poly applied. I think they still have to sand just a bit to get the poly to stick?
DON'T USE THE COMPANY THAT I USED!
I told the guy I had semi gloss finish but he had them use satin finish. I didn't like the look. He agreed to come back if I paid for the new "finish" and he re-did the floors with semi gloss. I don't like the finish. It almost looks like wax and it has a tendancy to sorta rub off. And it looks like he didn't clean well enough before he applied the finish. Looks like the dirt is sealed in there!
Anytime "I" try to go the less expensive way, "I'M" never happy. BIG SIGH!
My entire downstairs is site finished hardwood and I just didn't want to have to move everything out of the house to have the floors re done but one day, when I have the time, that is exactly what I will do...unless someone here comes up with a different idea!!!
Last time we had our floors done in NY they did this satin finish - NOT GOOD WITH KIDS. Before that we had the glossy and it could really take a beating. Hence the reason I had to Bona the floors when we were selling!
Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR
I used a company that comes in, sands and applys a finish. It was soooo much cheaper than having the floor sanded and new poly applied. I think they still have to sand just a bit to get the poly to stick?
DON'T USE THE COMPANY THAT I USED!
I told the guy I had semi gloss finish but he had them use satin finish. I didn't like the look. He agreed to come back if I paid for the new "finish" and he re-did the floors with semi gloss. I don't like the finish. It almost looks like wax and it has a tendancy to sorta rub off. And it looks like he didn't clean well enough before he applied the finish. Looks like the dirt is sealed in there!
Anytime "I" try to go the less expensive way, "I'M" never happy. BIG SIGH!
My entire downstairs is site finished hardwood and I just didn't want to have to move everything out of the house to have the floors re done but one day, when I have the time, that is exactly what I will do...unless someone here comes up with a different idea!!!
We had a company come in a few years ago and they stripped off the top coating and reapplied a new top finish, you can choose different glosses, years before this I did use a restore product and it took the refinishing company hours to remove so I would caution you on using this product if you are not moving. Since then we purchased a Oreck floor buffer and use it every two weeks to get the shine up.
When I was younger, I did the work myself, on old 1920's floors. Rented a buffer with steel wool pads. Went over all the floors, removed the debris with a shop vac and then tack-cloths. Applied three coats of polyurethane, and it looked wonderful. The biggest problem for me right now would be moving the furniture out and back, but if there are two of you and if you can keep kids and pets out of the way, you definitely can do it yourself.
We had a company called Oxygreen come in about a month ago and were really happy with the results. They had a Living Social deal. You have to move furniture but it can go back an hour afterwards.
We had a company called Oxygreen come in about a month ago and were really happy with the results. They had a Living Social deal. You have to move furniture but it can go back an hour afterwards.
That sounds similar to the type of "cleaning" the company I used but the floors in these photos look better. This was NOT the company that I used.
Being that my floors are site finished, there is a coat or two or threee of poly. How does the cleaner clean the poly and bring the shine back? It isn't that the company is cleaning the floor, itself. It is cleaning the poly. Maybe that is why I wasn't happy. Or, is there something I am not understanding?
Vicki
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