Wood Floor Refinishing Tips
By Jeanette Joy Fisher
Sometimes people tell me that they spend hours (and
sometimes days or weeks) refinishing an older hardwood
floor, only to find that there are now cloudy or white
stripes between the boards. It can be very frustrating,
but it can be avoided.
To begin with, it's important to remember that older
hardwood floors had decades of foot traffic and often
weren't been maintained with the proper floor care
products. People sometimes use household cleansers or
furniture polish, even though neither of those products
are meant to be used on hardwood floors. If any of that
residue was left on the floor after preparations were
made, the new floor coating could cause it to turn
cloudy or white, regardless of whether the new coating
was oil or water based.
To avoid such a situation, make sure to use the proper
grit of sandpaper and the correct procedure for using
it. Start with a coarse sandpaper, then switch to
medium, followed by a fine grit, to make sure you're
getting all the residue off the floor. Just because it
appears as if the floor is clean after the first or
second step doesn't mean you should ever skip a step. If
you do, you may run into costly and time-consuming
problems later, because you'll have to start all over
again and do it right, removing all contaminants
completely by thoroughly sanding with all three grits of
paper.
Also spend time preparing the floor in between each
successive coat of new finish, which will help the coats
adhere better and look nicer. Many future problems can
be avoided by taking your time in between coats to make
sure you're doing it all right. Follow the
manufacturer’s instructions on preparing the floor
between coats, which will often include light sanding
and buffing with an abrasive pad or screen. There are
some refinishing products that can be coated without
padding or screening, while other require extra long
drying times between coats. Read the instructions
carefully--and then follow them to the letter.
Letting coats dry can be critical, because even though
the main boards may be dry, the seams between the boards
may still be wet. Pay special attention to the seams,
bearing in mind that cloudiness or whiteness may not
appear until after the second or third coat, at which
time it will be too late to do anything about it.
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher
