Hardwood floors can withstand daily wear and tear, but deep scratches or dents may require professional refinishing services to bring back their beauty.
Refinishing damaged hardwood floors may be your top option for restoring them, but buffing can also do the trick. To keep them looking like new, sweep regularly, consider doormats and rugs and protect from direct sunlight.
Sand the Surface
Before beginning any refinishing project, it’s crucial that floors are thoroughly cleaned. A good sweep and/or mopping with pH-neutral solutions should remove any dirt or debris which might obstruct results.
Before sanding floors, it is advisable to conduct an inspection for protruding nails that might need pounding down with a hammer. Doing this will prevent damage to sanding pads or belts during work sessions.
Chemical Etch: Refinish Hardwood Floors Without Sanding is an efficient way to refinish hardwood floors without resorting to sanding. It is recommended for flooring showing minor signs of wear and tear or scuff marks, while revitalizer gloss may also be applied directly onto surface-level scratches for extra protection against further wear and tear. Unlike simple sealers that seep into wood pores allowing natural colors to come through; revitalizer solutions create clear finishes which protect hardwoods against any further harm.
Buff the Surface
If your hardwood floors require an update in terms of shine and finish, buffing may be just the solution. Similar to sanding but using less coarse grain grit, buffing removes less surface material than usual and can help remove scratches, gouges and discolorations not easily removed by polishing or cleaning alone. Rental machines for buffing machines can be found at home improvement and hardware stores.
Sanding wooden floors is an expensive and time-consuming task that takes place over 48 hours, requiring multiple tools and making the floor inaccessible for up to that period of time. Because this task should be shared between two people, you may consider recruiting friends as helpers rather than doing it by yourself.
Chemical Etch Method. Scuff your floors using a buffer and apply fresh coat of finish – this method is less messy than sanding, yet still creates dust; perfect for floors with mild wear such as scuff marks.
Apply a New Finish
Hardwood floors can take quite the beating from daily wear and tear, but with some light scrubbing and a refresher coat of finish they can look as good as new. Many homeowners believe that in order to restore the luster of their hardwood floor it requires extensive sanding, restaining and resealing processes – which may or may not be necessary depending on its condition – however if mild scratches and dull spots exist this may not be necessary.
Screen and recoat, also known as chemical etching, is an ideal way to restore floors with mild wear and tear that still look presentable overall. Unfortunately, however, this method requires the rental or purchase of an expensive buffer buffer for best results.
As buffers produce significant dust, it is recommended that all furniture be removed from the room and all participants wear dust masks while undertaking this project. Once everything is completed, apply a new coating of polyurethane on top and wait 24 hours or more before walking on it or replacing any furniture – typically the drying process should have completed itself by then.
Let It Dry
Refinishing hardwood floors without the use of sanding is possible for most flooring surfaces as long as there are no deep scratches or dents in the wood surface. One effective method involves using a buffer with a fine abrasive screen to smooth away nicks and scuff marks from the wood’s surface and leave it ready to receive its new coat of finish.
Hardware stores sell buffer and abrasive screen combinations that you can purchase, however before starting the job on a large area of flooring it is best to conduct a test run to make sure that you have selected an effective mixture that suits the materials being used in the flooring material.
Sweeping and vacuuming the floor regularly while refinishing is recommended to remove dust from the abrasive process, while it should also be given 48 hours to cure before walking on it or replacing furniture. Plug any heating vents in the room while closing windows to limit air flow during this process.