Comments on How to Refinish a Hardwood Floor

Our floors appear to be coated with shellac because it dissolves in alcohol. I have tried sanding other areas of wood in the house (woodwork, doors) and have found it just doesn't work very well. How much success can I expect with a sander on shellac?

we had new oak hardwood floors put in February 2009, and within a few days beads of poly are constantly appearing in the cracks of the floor. This substance is sticky and if you walk on it it smears leaving unsightly marks. I'm very disappointed with the job and assume the floors will have to be resanded and polyed. The contractor told us to use mineral spirits to take up the poly beads, but that would require doing the entire floor in 3 rooms. Please advise.

litegrl , sorry to say but i have never seen a "blend in" for a hardwood floor that matched to the rest of the floor.

A bottle of acetone based fingernail polish remover was spilled in the middle of my floor. The wood in that spot is now bare. Is it possible to refinish that one spot and have it match the rest of the room, or do I need to refinish the entire floor? (it's an oak floor, and the varnish is more than 10 years old)

dmc57.As long as the dog only scratched the finish, you can lightly sand the floor and apply more finish. You did not state how old the the original finish is or what it may be. If the floor is older, like mine and the finish is worn and yellowed, you will have to sand the entire floor to remove the old finish. If the floor or finish is newer, you can lightly sand just the finish and reapply a polyurethane.Another option is to apply a product called Renewal, that can be applied without sanding, to restore your floor's finish. Again, try to establish what finish is on your floor at present. Renewal may not be compatible with older varnishes.

marsin1.Did much the same thing myself. As the poly was still wet, I added more over the trouble spots. The poly filled in and leveled out and you cannot tell any difference. I used the water based Varathane for floors. Since by now your finish is dry, lightly sand the trouble spots and reapply finish over those spots. See how it turns out after one coat, you can always add additional coats if need be.

I stepped on a hardwood floor that I didn't realize was still wet. Does the entire floor need to be redone or can the few spots with the footprints be sanded and glazed over? If anyone know please let me know.

I live in a very dry climate and have a beech hardwood floor. I have some places where the boards look like they could be filled in with something and then sanded/polyurethaned over. Anyone suggest a product that works best for this type of flooring?

I live in a very dry climate and have a beech hardwood floor. I have some places where the boards look like they could be filled in with something and then sanded/polyurethaned over. Anyone suggest a product that works best for this type of flooring?

I have walnut floors and a dog that has scratched them up. Do need a professional to re-sand? Is there a orbital sander that just covers the high traffic areas or the scraches then reapply a poly urthene coat over everything.

I have walnut floors and a dog that has scratched them up. Do need a professional to re-sand? Is there a orbital sander that just covers the high traffic areas or the scraches then reapply a poly urthene coat over everything.

I have just sanded a pine floor, and after applying a first coat of polyurethane, I notice that there are lighter spots on the edges of the floor than the center. What causes this?

I have just sanded a pine floor, and after applying a first coat of polyurethane, I notice that there are lighter spots on the edges of the floor than the center. What causes this?

I just installed Bamboo flooring. My wife wants me to remove it because she thinks it is too light. Rather than remove it, can I stain it a darker color? Please advise. sad man63

I just installed Bamboo flooring. My wife wants me to remove it because she thinks it is too light. Rather than remove it, can I stain it a darker color? Please advise. sad man63

REPLY to ann45 You can certainly refinish your floors. The dark spots are usually caused by water or pet stains. You can have the floors stained to camouflage the areas because they will get darker when polyurethane is applied. Use a medium colored stain that is not real dark (Provincial or Early American by Minwax). Unfortunately the spots will probably not sand out (sometimes they do)! Good Luck

REPLY to ann45 You can certainly refinish your floors. The dark spots are usually caused by water or pet stains. You can have the floors stained to camouflage the areas because they will get darker when polyurethane is applied. Use a medium colored stain that is not real dark (Provincial or Early American by Minwax). Unfortunately the spots will probably not sand out (sometimes they do)! Good Luck

I called Mr. Sandless an for less then renting the equipment and buying the supplies they refinished my floors and did it in one day, with no mess, no oder, NO DUST, and I could walk on my floors when they were done.

I called Mr. Sandless an for less then renting the equipment and buying the supplies they refinished my floors and did it in one day, with no mess, no oder, NO DUST, and I could walk on my floors when they were done.

I found out that I have hardwood flooring under my carpet and there are a few dark spots in the wood. Iwant to know if I can refinish the floor?

I found out that I have hardwood flooring under my carpet and there are a few dark spots in the wood. Iwant to know if I can refinish the floor?

i refinished my floors with varathane floor finish and i ended up with gritty floors also it warpped slightly at various spots is there a better product i can use? could the grittyness be caused by poor cleaning? what causes the finish to warp? where can i buy a better product? thank you so much!

I just resurface our hardwood floor with gloss polyurethane (my husband's choice, not mine!) and I do not like the level of gloss at all. The dogs are afraid of it too! If I resand, can I reapply a satin or semi-gloss finish?

I just resurface our hardwood floor with gloss polyurethane (my husband's choice, not mine!) and I do not like the level of gloss at all. The dogs are afraid of it too! If I resand, can I reapply a satin or semi-gloss finish?

2boysandnotime, The answer to your question is YES you must seal the floor, best results would be with an acrylic finish. You can skip the stain and go natural, but the acrylic finish will seal the wood so that you will not have warping, discolouring or ground- in dirt that will ruin all that hard work. Especially with children in the home, spills occur and can be devestating to un- sealed wood. csosalanz : My living room is 12 ft x 16 ft and we needed to spend 6 hours sanding 80 years worth of wax and stain off of it. That does not include the edging - which will likely take 4 hours to do (tomorrow!). thomps3: yes, you need to get down to bare (wood) floor or the whole job will look uneven and nasty. Also, stains adhere best to raw wood. if there is old stain residue, the new stain will not soak into it.