How to Touch Up Hardwood Floors
An old hardwood floor that's gotten worn and dingy may need a full re-sanding and re-finishing, which means you're in a for a long, messy project. On the other hand, if the wear doesn't go down below the finish, and the wood stain is still intact, then you often can get away with a touch-up, which involves screening and re-applying the top of the finish without digging down into the wood itself. This is less damaging to a floor than a full sanding (and easier and less messy to accomplish), and will make the wood surface look like new. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Floor screener
- Screening disks (60-grit, 80-grit, 100-grit, and 120-grit)
- Vacuum with floor attachment
- Tack cloth
- Polyurethane
- Polyurethane applicator (looks like a wide cloth mop)
- 250-grit sandpaper
Instructions
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1
Set up the floor screener with a 60-grit screening disk (the roughest). Screen the floor starting along one wall, moving the buffer over with the direction of the grain. Take off the top coat of polyurethane. Vacuum up the dust.
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2
Put the 80-grit screen in your floor screener and repeat the process, screening the floor with the direction of the floorboards. Vacuum the dust, then screen it twice more, with 100-grit and 120-grit screen. The surface should end up totally clean and free of all shine, but the underlying wood stain should remain intact.
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3
Vacuum up the dust and use a tack cloth. Pour down a puddle of polyurethane, starting in one corner of the room, opposite the doorway. Put the applicator in the polyurethane and pull it slowly backward, spreading it over the floor.
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4
Pour additional polyurethane as needed to cover the whole floor. Let it set overnight.
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5
Hand-sand the surface with 250-grit sandpaper, buffing it lightly to take off the sheen so the next coat of polyurethane will stick. Vacuum up the dust.
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6
Spread a second layer of polyurethane, sand it, then apply a third layer. Let the third layer set for two to several days.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear a dust mask when screening the wood floor.
