Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. 90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

Thanks.

J.

On Apr 11, 6:16*pm, JRStern wrote:
Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. *90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. *I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. *Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

Thanks.

J.

satin maybe a better choice. gloss tends to enhance the imperfections

On Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:16:53 -0700, JRStern
wrote:

Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. 90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

Thanks.


I had my oak floors sanded and coated a couple years ago.
No wax, just 3 coats of poly, one on each of 3 days.
Wife wanted satin, and that's that.
I would have gone semi-gloss. No big deal.
We never use any additional coatings on it.
Just sweep. Might use a damp rag to wipe up a spill.
Looks just like it did 2 years ago. Very good.
Can't say how it will hold up long term.
We use rugs and runners on the high traffic areas.

--Vic

On Apr 11, 6:16*pm, JRStern wrote:
Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. *90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. *I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. *Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

Thanks.

J.

Doesn't the Minwax finish container say anything? Also go to their
web site and browse around. I personally would not wax, certainly not
until the floor had had a few months to harden, The solvent in the
wax might tend to soften the finish.

JRStern wrote:
Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. 90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

Yes

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

No need, it would give zero protection and you already have the sheen you
wanted. The poly will retain that sheen unless it gets all scratched up by
not sweeping off grit. If it does get all scratched up, you could wax to
bring back a uniform sheen but you would need to totally remove the wax to
reoat with ant top finish.

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

1. Sweep regularly so that grit doesn't scratch the finish

2. If necessary, clean spots with slightly damp rag or mop




--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On Apr 11, 4:16*pm, JRStern wrote:
Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. *90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. *I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. *Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

Thanks.

J.

Had 3/4 inch oak flooring in a home built circa 1900. Historically a
rental, so badly scuffed to bare wood in walkways, burned spots around
the fireplace, and of course various shrinkages from spilled water
damage..

After listening to several refinishers, came to the conclusion many
don't know what they're talking about. But, one said sand in an X
pattern and finish with the grain. Why? because the sander is less
likely to follow the weakness along a grain and produce wavey
patterns! Don't use a large disk sander, use a tumbler sander. And BE
CAREFUL. Exchange time, and paper, for a good final job.

Fill dings/cracks/slots. I used a hand grout removal tool to dig
accumulated dirt out of thecracks between some boards and the tool
even sands the sides back to pristine colors. Too difficult to replace
any flooring there, so used MinWax epoxy wood to fill, but that has a
green sheen to it, so Ms. [an artist] 'painted' the fill to match
adjacent boards and the fill visually disappears.

If you feel really, really like you want some exercise, sand manually
using a BLOCK of wood with paper. No PAD! Block of wood will produce
almost originally flat results. It's a bit labor intensive, but you
won't beleive the final result's quality.

Next, and this gets really, really important. CLEAN THE ROOM! Vacuum
everything. CLEAN the bare wood surface. Then use a lot of tac rags to
wipe the floor. Then lay on slightly thinned spar varnish used on a
ship's deck. Oil based, hard as a rock when cured. I MEAN lay on the
finish. Pour into sacrificial container, dip brush, gently allow
excess to run back into 'sc' DO NOT WIPE BRUSH! then in single stroke,
lay the finish onto the wood. ONCE! DO NOT GO BACK OVER. This coating
is thick, but being slightly thinned will soak in. If you see any
particulate matter, use a pin to remove, not a giant something, but
very small perturbation to your laid on finish. Throw away your
brush, throw away that container.

As you look the floor, you will be extremely disappointed in the lack
of cleanliness you were able to obtain. Take heart, you'll get them
next coat. In 24 hours the surface will be solid, but not the
junction to the wood, will still be gummy, so if you try to sand, be
prepared to use 400 sheets per sq meter. Exageration! Instead go
after the floor with wet n dry paper water and a wetting agent like a
few drops of jet-dry in distilled water. I did a whole floor, 15 ft
by 18 ft using a single sheet of paper doing that. Use 100 to 120
grain paper and sand only to flatten, rough the surface, and flatten
those ten million little "poinkies" you find in the finish.

Tac rag the whole floor. And using a sacrificial container lay on
another coat of pure finish. This time you will fiind the floor looks
like a mirror, only a few poinkies in the surface.

Do one more time, and you'll have a finish that looks like it was just
done for the rest of your life, Plus, and this is important, a finish
you can spot repair! When a delivery man dropped a heavy item onto our
floor, all I had to do was spot repeat the way I had originally done
the finish and it was back to brand new looking.

Oh, yeah. NO WAX!!! Not sure where the idea for that c*** came from
but DO NOT USE WAX!

15 years after we did our floors we still had people as they came in
and upon smelling fresh paint from another area, stop, and ask, "Is it
ok to walk on your new floor?"

On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:46:09 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

JRStern wrote:
Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. 90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

Yes

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

No need, it would give zero protection and you already have the sheen you
wanted. The poly will retain that sheen unless it gets all scratched up by
not sweeping off grit. If it does get all scratched up, you could wax to
bring back a uniform sheen but you would need to totally remove the wax to
reoat with ant top finish.

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

1. Sweep regularly so that grit doesn't scratch the finish

2. If necessary, clean spots with slightly damp rag or mop

Thanks to everyone.

So, it would strike everyone as just nuts, to refinish a floor today
with old-style varnish, just to duplicate the appearance - since
polyurethane is just so much tougher and easier?

I hired a pro, he used an industrial belt-sander for the main act, and
I think smaller disk sanders between coats, and I guess it all went
well.

The poly is just "too good" somehow, seems to lack character or
something. Maybe a tinted poly, or does everyone stain the wood and
stick with clear poly - which is what I got?

Also, seems to try mondo quick now. I used a lot of polyurethane
varnishes back when they were new circa 1970, and they took a while to
dry, especially after recoats. Now, the finisher swore we could put
the furniture back the next day! I gave it an extra day anyway. I
went even that quick because I've seen other (epoxy?) floor finishes
(paint) that indeed did dry in just an hour or two, and seemed tough
enough to walk on, at least, that quickly. Some progress through
science I guess!


J.

JRStern wrote:

So, it would strike everyone as just nuts, to refinish a floor today
with old-style varnish, just to duplicate the appearance - since
polyurethane is just so much tougher and easier?

There won't be a nickel's worth of difference in appearance between oil poly
and "old style" varnish. Unless the old style had aged a *whole* lot and
ambered in the can

BTW, someone suggested using spar varnish, mentioned it was used on boat
decks. It isn't. It is used on - ready? - SPARS!. It is used on spars
because it is soft and flexible and spars bend.
___________________

The poly is just "too good" somehow, seems to lack character or
something. Maybe a tinted poly, or does everyone stain the wood and
stick with clear poly - which is what I got?

Also, seems to try mondo quick now. I used a lot of polyurethane
varnishes back when they were new circa 1970, and they took a while to
dry, especially after recoats. Now, the finisher swore we could put
the furniture back the next day! I gave it an extra day anyway. I
went even that quick because I've seen other (epoxy?) floor finishes
(paint) that indeed did dry in just an hour or two, and seemed tough
enough to walk on, at least, that quickly. Some progress through
science I guess!

Did you use water or oil base poly? Water base dries faster, doesn't color
the wood much; oil colors the wood - "character" - and dries slower.
Scratches less easily too. Sounds like water is what you got.

Your floor was sanded to bare wood. Did the guy apply at least three coats
of poly? Doesn't sound like it.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:54:53 -0700, JRStern
wrote:



The poly is just "too good" somehow, seems to lack character or
something. Maybe a tinted poly, or does everyone stain the wood and
stick with clear poly - which is what I got?


We didn't stain our oak. After it was sanded it was a nice color.
Close to Golden Oak I guess. That's what they call the color of
some furniture we've bought, and it's close.
Probably the old varnish was colored originally or by age.
Didn't expect the floor to sand out so light.

Also, seems to try mondo quick now. I used a lot of polyurethane
varnishes back when they were new circa 1970, and they took a while to
dry, especially after recoats. Now, the finisher swore we could put
the furniture back the next day! I gave it an extra day anyway. I
went even that quick because I've seen other (epoxy?) floor finishes
(paint) that indeed did dry in just an hour or two, and seemed tough
enough to walk on, at least, that quickly. Some progress through
science I guess!


I don't even know what poly our guys used. Never looked at their cans
to see, and didn't think to ask.
They had done other family members' floors and I just trusted their
work.
I think they said don't walk on it until 6 hours had passed.
Maybe 4 hours. Seems it wasn't tacky after 4 hours, which is as early
as I touched it.
I suspect it was oil-based, mainly because the fumes were strong
enough to give me a sore throat after the second coat.
Don't really know for sure.
Not sure exactly what your issue is with the floor.
If it's a clear coating, it can only look as good as the wood allows.
Even a clear coating should highlight the grain nicely.
You can redo it with a stain, but how a stain takes is also dependant
on the wood.

--

Vic

On Apr 12, 11:54*am, JRStern wrote:
On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:46:09 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:





JRStern wrote:
Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. *90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. *I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. *Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

Yes

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

No need, it would give zero protection and you already have the sheen you
wanted. *The poly will retain that sheen unless it gets all scratched up by
not sweeping off grit. *If it does get all scratched up, you could wax to
bring back a uniform sheen but you would need to totally remove the wax to
reoat with ant top finish.

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

1. Sweep regularly so that grit doesn't scratch the finish

2. If necessary, clean spots with slightly damp rag or mop

Thanks to everyone.

So, it would strike everyone as just nuts, to refinish a floor today
with old-style varnish, just to duplicate the appearance - since
polyurethane is just so much tougher and easier?

I hired a pro, he used an industrial belt-sander for the main act, and
I think smaller disk sanders between coats, and I guess it all went
well.

The poly is just "too good" somehow, seems to lack character or
something. *Maybe a tinted poly, or does everyone stain the wood and
stick with clear poly - which is what I got?

Also, seems to try mondo quick now. *I used a lot of polyurethane
varnishes back when they were new circa 1970, and they took a while to
dry, especially after recoats. *Now, the finisher swore we could put
the furniture back the next day! *I gave it an extra day anyway. *I
went even that quick because I've seen other (epoxy?) floor finishes
(paint) that indeed did dry in just an hour or two, and seemed tough
enough to walk on, at least, that quickly. *Some progress through
science I guess!

J.

careful the new synthetics last around 25 years and turn into
something awful when they go.

On Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:59:58 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

Did you use water or oil base poly? Water base dries faster, doesn't color
the wood much; oil colors the wood - "character" - and dries slower.
Scratches less easily too. Sounds like water is what you got.

Your floor was sanded to bare wood. Did the guy apply at least three coats
of poly? Doesn't sound like it.

Yes there were three coats.

Sanding after the first coat, at least, *looked* like it had got clear
down to the bare wood again. I guess he knew what he was doing. I
remember much the same effect doing classic wood finishing, the
sanding between coats can look like it removes 90% or more of the
early coats, but I guess some stays behind as sealant ... maybe.

J.

JRStern wrote:
Had a nice hardwood floor in 1930s house, cleaning up for sale.
Everyone advised me to have them sanded and refinished. 90% looked
fine, 10% was scratched - and I went for it anyway.

Now here's the thing, the original finish was probably some kind of
shellac, and that had many decades of floor wax on it - but was mostly
covered by throw rugs, actually, which kept it in good shape.

The new finish is I guess the MinWax Dura-something finish, which I
gather includes top coats of polyurethane. I asked for semi-gloss top
finish. Was that a good idea?

Here's the thing, apparently people seem to believe this kind of floor
finish is good on its own, doesn't need first coats or regular coats
of floor cleaner/polish/wax, indeed can be cleaned with water-based
cleaners.

So, my questions a

* Is what I wrote above about right for common practice these days?

* Should these floors be given a coat of polish/wax?

* How *does* one best care for these modern finished wood floors?

Thanks.

J.

Dura seal extend is a stain/sealer and the old cans I have say nothing
about polyurethane. They do recommend a wax (Dura seal finish) be
applied over the stain/sealer coats. I have used these products with
excellent results. However, when I went to buy more recently it was
very hard to find. Perhaps dura seal has been taken over by miniwax
which is pushing its own formulations.

I used polyurethane on the first room I did 35 or 40 years ago; it
looked good at first (if you like plastic) but has not held up well.
Some day I'll sand it off and go with the dura seal. I do expect that
polyurethane has improved over the years; I used a waterborne
polyurethane a few years ago on some stairs, as it was recommended as
being less slippery, and it has looked good and held up well.

I agree that spar varnish is not suited for anything that is walked on.
Decks, if coated, are coated with deck varnish.

On Sat, 14 Apr 2012 11:23:30 -0400, Notat Home wrote:

polyurethane has improved over the years; I used a waterborne
polyurethane a few years ago on some stairs, as it was recommended as
being less slippery, and it has looked good and held up well.

I also note that the tactile finish is much less slippery than I
expected of a new finish, I wonder if the wood or previous coats
should have been sanded finer, or if it's exactly as it is supposed to
be.

J.