Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Floor Finish

Actually I have no idea what was used to cover my floors! How do you know if it was polyurethane or what? Floors ar 21 years old and don't look like the high gloss of Polly. The finish next to my sliding glass door is worn off! My X wife poured linseed oil on the floor and polished it in (4 years ago). Now everything looks awful! Should this be a separate post?
Changeling

Woodfloor right? It sounds like you have a wood floor that requires a paste wax or finish applied every so often. Most poly. sealed floors in my experience maintain a glossy finish, but still may require a polish. If its been 4 years and u can see where the finish is worn off it may be time to refinish the floor. But of course you still have to find out what type of finish for ur floor. Basicly you can go to a lowes or local hardware store and explain the situation to them. To me it sounds like you have a floor requiring wax...but of course i havent seen it. There is a simply way of finding out..If the floor soaks up water...then its not poly. Of course you should never use water to clean a hardwood floor. But u can test in a corner or under furniture..if the floor repels the water its been sealed..if not it requires waxing and refinishing. At least that what i was always taught. We have a small hardwood floor at work..that is like what i described. Ever so often I refinish it but using a finish stripper for hardwood floor..Bruce's is the product name and then refinish it with their paste wax. Takes a long time but if ur patient looks great. We get our bruces from lowes and its not that bad..i think the stripper is like 8 bucks a can and paste wax like 4 a can. GL

Docduck thanks for the reply. It has a finish of some sort because you can see where it has worn off. I also kind of remember that I couldn't go into the house for a couple of days or whatever when they put the floor in. One thing I am fairly sure of now is that it is something besides Polly. But I have no idea what. Is there some kind of refinish that you can put on like that Formby stuff that people refinish furniture with?
Changeling

You probably have varnish or lacquer if it is not poly. My guess is lacquer. If so then personaly I would refinish the whole floor. Meaning; sand off all finish until it is down to the bare wood then poly it. Lacquer is stubborn but with enough elbow greese will come off fine. That is waht I had in the over 1000sft of floors I had. whatever you do though; DO NOT USE WAX!! Wax will absorb into the wood itself and when it is time to refinish or screen and coat it will come out terrible as the poly will not bond properly to the wood and will bubble and even beed up.
If you are totaly against refinishing then I would at least screen and coat the floors. By the way poly only has a high sheen if you want it to. Just because it is not shiny does not mean it is not poly. Poly comes in the same finishes as paint (satin, semi and high gloss). So in other words it very well might be poly that is currently on there. If you need anymore advise let us know and best of luck to you.

Thanks Evan. I was going to refinish the floor myself with a random Orbit Sander but everyone says it was to much of a job for the ROS sander. It is 150 sq. feet. I don't think that is particularly a lot of area but don't really know other than what I have been told!
I just know I am not going to give someone $500.00 for a job that he told me would take about a day and a half!
Changeling

refinish that small area yourself. I would suggest a belt sander however over an orbital. Sand in direction of wood. Start with 100G to get the crap off, move to 150 then 200 to get a decent preped surface. Use poly to finish. Their are medium and low gloss poly's out there if you do not want the sheen.

Good luck,
Marc

I agree with Marc, for 1/3 the price you could easily DIY it. Don't go orbital though. Get a drum and edger. Follow the grain of the wood but if it is indeed lacquer 100 grit won't touch it. You will want to go with 60 then 80 then go to the finer grits as Marc said. I use 60 to get the top layer of junk off, 80 for what I missed and end with 120 followed by a screen. With the fast drying polys and the decent quality water based ones out now you can do the job in a day. Good luck.

Evan, my neighbor has a commercial belt sander. Would this do the job on this project? I really don't have a lot of experience with this type of sander and have heard you can ruin a floor fast. Would the ROS sander due as an edger?
Changeling

If it is meant for floors than that will do. If not renting a drum sander (which I would do if you are unsure) won't be more than 40$ a day and probably cheaper. They can also show you how it works. You are correct when you say a floor can get ruined fast but this usually happens from people not using common sence and not from inexperience. I think it is pretty much common sence that you do not ever keep a sander in one place without moving it yet people do this. Always feather the edge when sanding. If you decide to use a drum sander and need advice feel free to ask and I or anyone here can give you advice.
An edger is extremely tough and has a very strong motor. This is why it is made for floor use. An orbital sander is not meant to tackle a large area like the edge of a floor. With that said I had a friend who rented an edger and used it to knock the first layer of finish off. He then used the orbital to take care of the rest and it came out very well. You will still need to use the edger though to get the first layer of crap off though, that stuff can be tough as nails.

The most trouble you will have with this type of refinish will be the gumming of paper. Using a house hold ros you will go through a ton of paper. For an area of that size renting a drum sander for 4 hours and an edger will be much more cost effective. Take your time get all the info you need before you start this is a weekend project. Have fun.

Phil

Thanks for the great advice, I here and obey! It will be summer before I can do it because of an injured hand. That would probably be the best time anyway. I can keep the doors open for dust and fumes.
Changeling