What Should I Do to Clean Up Poly ureathane Coated Wood Floor.

Floor is coated w/ polyureathane with moderate wear in door and entrance. I
don't want to refinish floor.
Can I clean and wax it? If so, which cleaner and wax should I use. Any
other suggestions for improving
finish w/o resurfacing?

Thanks,

Mike, I don't know the answer to your question but I was in the same
situation recetly and decided to refinish the whole floor -- precisiely
what you said you did NOT want to do.

It seem to me that cleaning and waxing it would make that area look
differenct. Wouldn't it be beter to clean and then put new poly down?

NEM - I agree the way to do it is to refinish, but I need to live in one
room while renovating the rest of the house.
After the house is renovated I'll go back and do the floor. Another problem
is there's a major sag near one wall so I nned to take out the ceiling below
the sag.

Mike

"Never Enough Money" wrote in message
oups.com...
Mike, I don't know the answer to your question but I was in the same
situation recetly and decided to refinish the whole floor -- precisiely
what you said you did NOT want to do.

It seem to me that cleaning and waxing it would make that area look
differenct. Wouldn't it be beter to clean and then put new poly down?

Find some "padding" Poly (wipe-on) that is in the same gloss (flat/antique,
satin/semi-gloss, gloss). Clean the worn area using water and mild soap
(liquid dish soap), dry then clean with mineral spirits. If unsure of the
gloss level buy a couple of small cans of poly (satin and gloss) and test it
on a spot. Can always be sanded down or just coated over.

Use a fine grade sandpaper (300 grit) to even out the wear area and feather
the edges out to where the floor finish is not worn - use a light touch.
This will dull the area - (don't worry, the poly will bring back the shine).
If you have any deep scratches you may have to spot those first to build
them up before applying the finish coats. Just use a small artists brush to
paint the poly over the scratches. Let it dry, sand the scratch areas even
(300 grit) and redo if necessary following the instructions.

Before applying any poly, clean the area using the mineral spirits and let
it dry by wiping it all off. Now, follow the instructions on the Poly can
(use lint free cloth, etc....) and wipe on a thin coat of poly - slowly but
evenly following the grain of the wood. You will soon get the feel for
doing this by feathering the edges as you near the unworn areas. Start
lifting the pad as you get near the edge you're refinishing.

It takes about three hours (+/-) to become dry to the touch depending on
temp and humidity but wait at least double that before applying more thin
layers. Don't worry about how it looks right now - additional coats will
fix that but try to apply it evenly. The cloth pad should not "drag" (feel
resistance) but rather float as you apply the poly. If you feel it drag,
apply more poly and avoid the temptation to go back over what you just
applied (even if you missed a spot) if it's been longer than about15
seconds. Wait until it dries again (3 hrs) before going back over an area.

Use some 400 to 600 grit wet/dry paper to knock down any nibs and to provide
some tooth for the next application. Use a light coating of mineral spirits
and the wet/dry paper to "lightly" sand over the area. This will dull the
previous coat of poly. Clean with mineral spirits and let dry. Wipe on
another coat of poly and repeat the above process until it blends in with
the rest of the area.

The final coat should not require any sanding and as long as you used the
same gloss level, it should look pretty close to the rest of the floor.
Poly dries in 24 hrs but takes about a week to cure - so tread lightly on
the area and don't cover it with a throw rug or anything else until after it
has cured.

As a final note, I believe it is the Varathane brand that states in the
instructions that their wipe-on poly can be used for spot treating floors.

I'm sure others will have some sage advice for you also.

Bob S.


"Mike" wrote in message
news:Lnwhe.2385$5b1.1336@trnddc07...
What Should I Do to Clean Up Poly ureathane Coated Wood Floor.

Floor is coated w/ polyureathane with moderate wear in door and entrance.
I
don't want to refinish floor.
Can I clean and wax it? If so, which cleaner and wax should I use. Any
other suggestions for improving
finish w/o resurfacing?

Thanks,

Thanks for the useful instructions.

Mike

"BobS" wrote in message
...
Find some "padding" Poly (wipe-on) that is in the same gloss
(flat/antique, satin/semi-gloss, gloss). Clean the worn area using water
and mild soap (liquid dish soap), dry then clean with mineral spirits. If
unsure of the gloss level buy a couple of small cans of poly (satin and
gloss) and test it on a spot. Can always be sanded down or just coated
over.

Use a fine grade sandpaper (300 grit) to even out the wear area and
feather the edges out to where the floor finish is not worn - use a light
touch. This will dull the area - (don't worry, the poly will bring back
the shine). If you have any deep scratches you may have to spot those
first to build them up before applying the finish coats. Just use a small
artists brush to paint the poly over the scratches. Let it dry, sand the
scratch areas even (300 grit) and redo if necessary following the
instructions.

Before applying any poly, clean the area using the mineral spirits and let
it dry by wiping it all off. Now, follow the instructions on the Poly can
(use lint free cloth, etc....) and wipe on a thin coat of poly - slowly
but evenly following the grain of the wood. You will soon get the feel
for doing this by feathering the edges as you near the unworn areas. Start
lifting the pad as you get near the edge you're refinishing.

It takes about three hours (+/-) to become dry to the touch depending on
temp and humidity but wait at least double that before applying more thin
layers. Don't worry about how it looks right now - additional coats will
fix that but try to apply it evenly. The cloth pad should not "drag" (feel
resistance) but rather float as you apply the poly. If you feel it drag,
apply more poly and avoid the temptation to go back over what you just
applied (even if you missed a spot) if it's been longer than about15
seconds. Wait until it dries again (3 hrs) before going back over an
area.

Use some 400 to 600 grit wet/dry paper to knock down any nibs and to
provide some tooth for the next application. Use a light coating of
mineral spirits and the wet/dry paper to "lightly" sand over the area.
This will dull the previous coat of poly. Clean with mineral spirits and
let dry. Wipe on another coat of poly and repeat the above process until
it blends in with the rest of the area.

The final coat should not require any sanding and as long as you used the
same gloss level, it should look pretty close to the rest of the floor.
Poly dries in 24 hrs but takes about a week to cure - so tread lightly on
the area and don't cover it with a throw rug or anything else until after
it has cured.

As a final note, I believe it is the Varathane brand that states in the
instructions that their wipe-on poly can be used for spot treating floors.

I'm sure others will have some sage advice for you also.

Bob S.


"Mike" wrote in message
news:Lnwhe.2385$5b1.1336@trnddc07...
What Should I Do to Clean Up Poly ureathane Coated Wood Floor.

Floor is coated w/ polyureathane with moderate wear in door and entrance.
I
don't want to refinish floor.
Can I clean and wax it? If so, which cleaner and wax should I use. Any
other suggestions for improving
finish w/o resurfacing?

Thanks,