# want to refinish old floors without sanding , need help .



## itsonlysir (Apr 3, 2012)

hello all and thanks for taking the time to read my question .

my grandma already lives in her house and wanted to take all the carpet up . so i did that and took all staples and nails out already .. now the floor looks real good for being under carpet for many years . but you can see in spots where like the seams of the padding was .. in places you can see the design of the padding but mostly looks all surface issues . she is not to picky and just wants it to be shinny once again. now again she lives in the house and i will have to do a room at a time cause i dont have anywhere else to put furniture .

so what i wanna do is deep clean the floors the best i can then put down a coating that will make the floors shiny again . i know that the deep scratches and such will be there still , thats not important , i just wanna get it as clean as i can then refinish the floors .. i was thinking water based polyurethane . but thats just from what reading have done …. what do you guys think my best bet is ? thanks


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## Dcase (Jul 7, 2010)

I have used Waterlox brand Tung Oil on oak floors and was really happy with the results. Its also a lot easier to apply then polyurethane and it can be touched up without having to refinish the whole floor again.


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Floor finishers often "screen" a floor like yours instead of doing a total sanding, staining, and refinish. Screening uses a floor buffer with those plastic pads to clean the surface for a fresh coat of poly.

It can make a floor look really good.


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## Doss (Mar 14, 2012)

Well, unless you want to risk having to redo the floors again in a couple of years, I suggest you sand the surface to give the refinish some "tooth." It's not that you can't refinish the floors like these guys are saying… it's just how much of a risk you are willing to take.

I mean, you're going through a whole lot of trouble moving everything around and such, you might as well just do it right the first time and not have to worry about it for a long while.

I say this because I have been thinking about restaining my floors and refinishing them. I plan on getting a POD and just knocking it out as fast as I can.


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## itsonlysir (Apr 3, 2012)

well provide any further protection , or will that just make them shine ?? and i checked lows and home depot . and dont see that product at ether place . is it something i will have to order ? also what would be the best way to apply it on a big floor ? thanks for the fast reply


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## itsonlysir (Apr 3, 2012)

this screening is just what i was thinking from the start , i have done spray buffing before . it it uses the same pads and machine , but i wasnt sure how it would do on a wood floor .. i was thinking that if i put a light ( screen )on it then come back with a new finish i would get best results … but thats why im here asking cause im not sure . i was reading that water based poly dries real fast and applies easy .. but again im not sure . and so i ask you guys


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

You can screen a floor and if you don't cut too deep you don't
sand through the pigment on the wood, either stain or age. You
can put layers of finish on top and not many people will know
the job was a quickie.

If you want to avoid the mess of sanding, you can scrape the
floor with a ball joint scraper.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

Water based poly FOR FLOORS can't be walked on for quite a while and no furniture or carpets for several DAYS. If the wood is in decent shape but you have to "deep clean" I'd suggest using a floor buffer with the scotchbrite type pads.

The use Osmo PolyX hard wax oil on it. You can buff it to whatever shine you want, but you should be able to use the room again in under 5 hours.


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## itsonlysir (Apr 3, 2012)

where can i find Osmo PolyX hard wax oil ? is it something i can find in a hardware store like lows ? or do i have to order it ?


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## Doss (Mar 14, 2012)

http://www.amazon.com/OSMO-Polyx-Hard-Wax-25-3/dp/B003RDW1UY

http://www.amazon.com/OSMO-Polyx-Hard-Wax-Liter/dp/B003Q9R3RA/ref=pd_sim_ac_1

They have a few of the others in their line of products as well.


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## itsonlysir (Apr 3, 2012)

i have read there websight and it says to only use on bare wood … her floor already has a coating on it and its 3 bed rooms a hall way dinning room and living room , thats alot to scrape ..


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## Doss (Mar 14, 2012)

Honestly, I think the best solution is to try a good waxing and see if that gets you anywhere (try a few spots first).

If that doesn't work, figure out whatever type of finish is on the floor, rough it up, and then reapply the same finish over it.

The reason I am sanding mine all the way back to bare wood is because I want to change the color to something more in line with the rest of our house.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Fill any holes, clean the floor well and put on several coats of shellac, the more the better. Shellac will stick to whatever is there, even any wax residue that you don't get off. We did this to our living room, the old finish had worn through to the wood, two thin coats (put on with a sponge mop no less) lasted several years, looked good, and we (family of four) wear our shoes in the house and have a dog.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

i know a couple of women 
that did a small house

they used this

http://woodworker.com/simple-success-qtsatin-mssu-902-922.asp?search=&searchmode=2

clean up the floor good
then giggle while you brush it on

welcome to LJ's


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

If the finish is not damaged you might just need to buff it with Johnson's Paste Wax.

My dad was a floor finisher for over 50 years. Many times he would throw a fine steel wool pad on his buffer and clean the floor then apply a coat of paste wax and buff it off with a lambs wool bonnet on the buffer.

These floors would look great after this treatment.

The buffer he used was the big type with a 20" pad.


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