If your hardwood floor's original finish/sealer is an oil based polyurethane. Polyurethane is used to seal gym floors. Heavy wax buildup can be easily removed using Trewax Concentrate Instant Wax Remover. It is not sold in stores and must be purchased online. It is not made for use on wood floors, but it was the only thing I could find that said, "wax remover". I only tried it because I was told by a professional that it would not damage my original polyurethane finish. I was told that it takes a much stronger stripper like lacquer thinner to effect the polyurethane. I mixed 1/2 remover with 1/2 water and let sit for 3 to 5 min. then rinsed with a wet cloth. The orange glo wax buildup was gone. Some areas required a light scrubbing. I have a very large kitchen and I thought to speed up the process, I could mix with a little less water, so I mixed it a little stronger and I was amazed at how well it removed several years of old wax. Not once did it do anything to my original finish. I highly recommend this product,. It is the only thing that has worked for me. I have used everything under the sun over the last 2 years trying to remove the orange glo wax. . Trewax Concentrate Instant Wax Remover comes in a gallon and is only $18.99.

2 words...mineral spirits. We use it to clean so many marks off of so many things and it works wonderfully. Just wash afterward. It's also ideal for removing stubborn stuck on price tags....for those of you with olefin or polypropylene carpets, you can use mineral spirits to remove spots from that as well. As far as front door/back door, if I had to keep everyone out of the house who might leave dirt on my floor, I'd have to turn the garden shed into a room for DH...he is by far the worst offender....more so than any contractors here. He's the reason I keep a basket of shoe covers in the mud room....not that they get used as often as I'd like. (As indestructible as olefin is, he's managed to damage mine...put a drop light down on it when he was working on something and melted it!) He's a big part of the reason why we have vinyl instead of hardwood in our house now. Of course I cracked up at the cable guy who was here, very dutifully putting his booties on his boots and then proceeding to traipse back and forth to his truck without taking them on and off.... Almost everyone comes to my front door. On the rare occasion that the garage door is open and someone comes into the garage and knocks on that door, I wonder, "What the heck is that?!?" Except for when I had the remodeler building the steps and shelves at my garage entry door...he kept hammering and I kept answering the door! But damage through negligence is a whole 'nother thing. My GF had her kitchen counters damaged when the guy was cutting vinyl tile on it without wood or other material to protect it. No excuse for that.

Here's the update. I tried brushing on the lacquer thinner to smooth out the finish, and it just didn't work very well. Some of the deeper crackled areas smoothed out a tiny bit, but certainly not enough that I would put a new layer of finish on them. So, on to plan B and stripping the whole top off. I'm still undecided about a finish. I think brushing lacquer is going to be too fussy and error prone for me. I thought about lacquer in the spray can, but wonder how many coats that would take. I'm guessing a lot. I had almost convinced myself to buy the Waterlox, but I've seen the varnish in a few videos, and it looks really, really dark. And much too reddish. Since I'm only refinishing the tops, I think I need something that leans towads amber. After lots of reading, the Sherwin Williams product is out. Many more negative comments online about this product, particularly as a wiping varnish, so I'm not even going to try it. The Cabot's products available at Lowes are all poly or spar. Of the choices available locally, this leaves poly or Formby's. I know many people have an issue with Formby's over the whole misleading marketing of "tung oil" and all, but really, what about the product itself? Does anyone have experience with this? Application? Durability? What color is it? Repairs and touch ups? If I use a coat of shellac on the top after stripping, can I apply ANY finish on top of that? BTW, my set of unfinished chairs was delivered. The plan is to sand (gently), stain, assemble (with added glue in all appropriate joints), then finish. Any other suggestions or tips?

You can purchase on Amazon, search for "Bostik adhesive remover wipes" The other alternative that we use on site would be mineral spirits. You must follow up with a damp cloth after using mineral spirits. If you do not clean up with a damp cloth, which will leave the mineral spirits on the surface of your floor, it can tarnish your finish/create a bad haze that can not be removed.