Wax over polyurethane hardwood floors?
spike07
10 years ago
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Joseph Corlett, LLC
10 years agoRelated Discussions
polyurethane over hardwood floors looks messed up
Comments (5)Is "the contractor" also the person who installed the hand scraped? Hand scraped is not going to look as 'finished' as traditional finished flooring; it's supposed to look a little rough. Did your contractor show you samples of what your floor might look like finished? Even smooth floors can look funny and incomplete before the final coat....See MoreRefinishing hardwood floors. Wax after polyurethane?
Comments (5)Wax is a BIG no-no on polyurethane/urethane finished hardwood floors. Big time no-no. So big, it can prevent future refinishings = very expensive yet USELESS hardwood floor that needs to be ripped out after 20-30 years. That is a very expensive lesson that MANY people have learned. You don't need to be one of them. Cleaning hardwood = sweeping multiple times per week (vacuuming with beater-bar turned OFF is the mechanized version of sweeping = perfectly fine). A "damp" cleaning (very, very, very limited amount of moisture on the pad) is done roughly once per week - water ONLY. This is with a microfibre mop/pad ($15 at Home Depot). The pad is very lightly misted with water and then swept across the wood very quickly. Just enough to get the fine dust that is not collected by sweeping/vacuuming. Then about 1 per month, you then CLEAN the hardwood using a pH neutral hardwood floor cleaner. Again the cleaner is misted onto to the head of the microfibre mop (just barely damp) and then it is swept across the surface. If you want "shiny" floors you need to start out with a SHINY finish. If you chose matte or satin finish and find it too dull (you want to pep it up - give it some "life") then you need to have another coat of finish added - in a higher gloss. Wax is NOT to be used to increase shine. It is not be to used at all on poly/urethane finishes. Good luck. Put down the wax. Put down the polish. Pick-up a microfibre mop and a brand name hardwood floor cleaner (should say "Does not leave a residue" on the bottle). Do NOT use steam cleaners. Do NOT use swiffer products of ANY TYPE....See MoreWax over polyurethane hardwood floors?
Comments (3)In the old days people would often shellac a floor, buff with steel wool, apply wax and buff. I've done a few floors with wax over poly, generally for people who wanted wax maintenance with a little more water resistance than wax provides. It's likely to be very slippery and then needs to be maintained like wax finish, which most people don't want because you either have to own/rent a buffer or hire a professional. In addition you wouldn't be able to recoat the poly after waxing....See MoreCleaning water based polyurethane finished hardwood floor
Comments (6)Oil based soap (like Murphy's) is a super no-no. You then added a polish. Again another no-no. You need to STRIP (chemically and mechanically) the floors of the soap and the polish. Rubbing Alcohol works wonders. Try a test patch. Work in a well ventilated area. Get on hands and knees with the alcohol and a putty knife as your scraper. You will do this for the entire floor. And hopefully you will never need to refinish these floors. Those two products you have applied have drastically reduced your ability to do a full sand and refinish or even a buff and coat later in life....See MoreJames
10 years agograywings123
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10 years agoJoseph Corlett, LLC
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