floor polishing - help!
I’m moving into a new apartment next week. The hardwood floors are in pretty good shape, but everyone advises that I should get them polished before we move the furniture in. I’m not looking to refinish the floors. I’ve been given wildly different quotes and procedures from the various professionals that I’ve spoken to and…
I’m moving into a new apartment next week. The hardwood floors are in pretty good shape, but everyone advises that I should get them polished before we move the furniture in. I’m not looking to refinish the floors. I’ve been given wildly different quotes and procedures from the various professionals that I’ve spoken to and I don’t know who to believe. Do I want the floor buffed and waxed? Or do I want it buffed and then a coat of polyurethane applied? Or do I want two coats of polyurethane and a sealant with buffing in between? For 1,200 sq. ft, I’ve been quoted from $585 to $1,800 for floor “polishing.” I would be grateful for any clarification.
if they have scratches in them that have not eaten into the wood, you may do well to have the finish “screened” with say an 80 grit screen on the bottom of a floor buffer. Screen it again with 100 grit and perhaps 120. then coat it with one coat of poly. if scratches show through after the poly was applied, consider going over it again with a 120 or 150 grit screen and applying another coat of poly. that should do.
the advantage: saves money and extends the life of the floors. everytime you sand them you bring them closer to the end of their useful life.
Call me if you have any questions,
Steve
http://www.thetinkerswagon.com
347-813-9635
If you use wax occasionally (or the stuff I recommended) you won’t HAVE to re-polyurethane for many years. My floors were polyurethaned in 1974 and still look great. Wax CAN be stripped off should you need to apply more poly (although I can’t imagine why you’d have to do that, barring some really major mishap.
I would not put wax. After this you cannot put polyurethane on top if it.
Also before re-sanding floors – are they solid wood or engineered?
you would not want to apply wax over poly….if there are scrapes and scatches , get it screened and repolyed
If the floors are in good shape, leave them alone. If you think they need an extra coat of polyurethane, I am not positive but I believe you need to have them lightly sanded for that, and if so, it is definitely easier to do it before you move in — because it makes a lot of dust.
I use a product called “Rejuvenate” which the manufacturer sells on it’s website:
https://www.buyrejuvenate.com/?cid=249849
Home Depot also sells it.
I’m usually resistant to things advertised as being “as seen on TV” and the soundtrack on the Rejuvenate website is OBNOXOUS, but the stuff works very well. I first used it on my parquet floors before my house was on the ’06 PLG house tour and have re-applied it once since, on a high traffic area. I had intended to use paste wax and my old floor waxer, but that turned out to no longer work. Rejuvenate looks at least as good and is much easier to use. You’ll probably need two bottles of the stuff plus an applicator and applicator cover, for a total cost of about $60. The work should take well under an hour in an empty apartment, although you really should wash your floors with Murphy’s Oil Soap the day before and let it dry. People will tell you not to use Murphy’s, but I’ve been using it for MANY years, with no damage.
BTW, I have no connection at all to the manufacturer of either product.