Make Your Hardwood Floors Shine
May 11, 2007
Over time, hardwood floors develop scratches. Some are tiny, some are deeper. With the new polyurethane finishes, the wood generally is less susceptible to scratching, but sometimes pets and furniture can leave marks.
If the scratches are not all the way through the finish, there are a couple of strategies you can try to make the floor shine like new.
1) Sand the scratched area with 0000-grade steel wool to blend the scratch into the surrounding area.
2) Use a smal brush and apply a small amount of polyurethane just to the scratch, keeping it off the surrounding area as much as possible.
3) Rub a small amount of paste wax directly into the scratch, using a clean, soft rag. Let the wax dry, then buff the area around the scratch.
4) Use a color-putty stick in a color that matches the floor. Rub it lightly into the scratch, then let it dry.
5) Use one of the commercial scratch removers available that work primarily by filling the scratched area and eliminating the reflected light from the area, making the scratch seem to disappear.
Try to repair in an unobtrusive spot such as a closet before tackling more obvious area.
If the scratch is through the finish and into the wood beneath, you may need to have a flooring contractor sand and recoat the floor.
Shiny and waxed hardwood floors lend a warmth and charm to a home that is desired by many
home seekers.
Over time, hardwood floors develop scratches. Some are tiny, some are deeper. With the new polyurethane finishes, the wood generally is less susceptible to scratching, but sometimes pets and furniture can leave marks.
If the scratches are not all the way through the finish, there are a couple of strategies you can try to make the floor shine like new.
1) Sand the scratched area with 0000-grade steel wool to blend the scratch into the surrounding area.
2) Use a smal brush and apply a small amount of polyurethane just to the scratch, keeping it off the surrounding area as much as possible.
3) Rub a small amount of paste wax directly into the scratch, using a clean, soft rag. Let the wax dry, then buff the area around the scratch.
4) Use a color-putty stick in a color that matches the floor. Rub it lightly into the scratch, then let it dry.
5) Use one of the commercial scratch removers available that work primarily by filling the scratched area and eliminating the reflected light from the area, making the scratch seem to disappear.
Try to repair in an unobtrusive spot such as a closet before tackling more obvious area.
If the scratch is through the finish and into the wood beneath, you may need to have a flooring contractor sand and recoat the floor.
Shiny and waxed hardwood floors lend a warmth and charm to a home that is desired by many
home seekers.
posted by shirley harry at 8:59 AM
1 Comments:
Shirley,
Your hardwood flooring blog got me thinking about some potential topics for you. My brother and I just put hardwood floors down in his house, he is a first time home owner so it was a "do it yourself" project due to, lack of funds.
We found considerable help from Lowe's in that they offer a program called "Project Financing" or something like that, which allowed us to have a line of credit up to a certain amount for this single project. There were minimal restrictions and it was a great resource for us because as always just one trip to the hardware store isn't enough.
The freedom that this program gave us was valuable because we could learn as we go and pick up tools and supplies as needed.
Point being it was a nice program for a young married couple that wanted to increase their homes value but didn't have the budget to hire a contractor (I played pseudo-contractor for free food).
Let me know what you think. bmcculloch@f2kinc.com
Post a Comment
<< Home