On 11 Jun 2005 12:55:39 -0700, wrote:

I have an old (1912) house with pine or fir wood floors
and I think shellac finish over stain. We just removed
some ~20 year old carpet and padding, and the floor doesn't
look too horrible, so we would like to preserve as much
of the original finish as possible.

We are using mineral spirits to remove the gummy pad stains,
but it is not coming off too easily. We have about a 1x4' area
completed in 3 hours, and you can still see some of the spots.
They even seem to look grey or white (dried out) instead of
looking like the surrounding finish.

I tested the finish with water, and in the corners it will
bead up with no white spots, so I do not think there is much
if any wax buildup. The high traffic areas do not bead, but
will soak in and darken the wood.

We have tried plastic scrapers to no avail. Fingernails seem
to do the best job. Acetone removes the finish and lightens the wood.

Eventually we would like to apply a coat of paste wax to add
some protection and shine to the floor.

Any ideas or suggestions?
Jay and Kelli

Scrape the padding off with whatever works best - I've used regular
paint scrapers with good effect as long as you are *very* careful of
the corners of the scraper. Once the pad is removed rent a floor
sander and take it all down to bare wood (there is no finish left in
the traffic areas, that is why the water soaks in) before applying
your favorite floor finish.

IMO, trying to preserve any of the old finish on a floor that will
actually be used is a waste of time.

--
"We need to make a sacrifice to the gods, find me a young virgin... oh, and bring something to kill"

Tim Douglass

http://www.DouglassClan.com