Many individuals want to spruce up their floors and give them a new look without really sanding them. This is the best option for floors that aren’t severely damaged. This means there aren’t any significant scratches or dents, which can only be eliminated by shaving a centimetre or two off the wood’s surface. How to refinish a wood floor without sanding appears to be a popular question.
You’ll need a floor that’s already in good shape if you want to refinish it without sanding. To create a key for the next coat, thoroughly clean the floor with a pH-neutral cleanser and lightly massage it down. Use a finish that blends in with the existing one.
You can be on a tight budget and simply want to brighten up your floor. If you answered yes to either of these questions, keep reading. You may also visit dustless sanding hardwood floors for additional information.
Make sure your floor is clean.
Either a pH neutral floor cleanser or warm water would suffice! Personally, I’d choose the warm water and scrub on my hands and knees. Make sure not to saturate the floor; instead, use a moist mop or rag to avoid water damage.
Determine whether your floor was done with an oil-based or lacquer-based finish.
For the untrained eye, distinguishing between an oiled and a lacquered floor might be difficult. In an ideal world, you’d know when the floor was installed. Here are several distinctions that can assist you in determining the difference. Hardwax or oiled On the surface, oiled floors tend to wear out faster. They’re also slightly darker and more orange in hue. Oiled floors discolor readily and usually leave a mark if you spill a drink on them.
Lacquered floors are often lighter in color. The surface does not wear as rapidly or as easily as other surfaces. Usually, the surface is shinier.
I propose using a ‘Hardwax Oil’ if your floor has an oil-based finish. I propose utilizing a Polyurethane lacquer if your floor is lacquer-based (not acrylic or part acrylic).
Lightly abrade (sand) the floor’s surface.
Do this with a buffing machine using a 120 grit mesh (or a few 120 grit disks under the pad) or with just a 120 bit of sandpaper by hand. You don’t need a buffing machine; in fact, I frequently use 120 paper by hand (when buffing before the final coat on a floor that has been stained for example).
Rub the floor in a direction that follows the grain of the wood (as seen in the video above). Make sure you do this methodically so as to not leave any areas unabraded. Don’t put too much pressure down and don’t do it too thoroughly. The purpose of this is to key the surface to allow the new coat to bond to the floor and prevent the new coat peeling off.
Vacuum the floor.
Again make sure you do this slowly and methodically, going around the edge of the floor with the pipe of the hoover to ensure the floor is free of dust.
Lacquer or oil the floor.
You can learn how to lacquer or oil a floor here . If you are lacquering you should use a medium pile roller for correct coverage, whereas if you are oiling I recommend using a short pile roller.
That’s it! Be sure to check the instructions on the product for drying times before walking on the floor or replacing furniture.
This is a great, cheap and easy solution for people that want to know how to refinish a wood floor without sanding. It returns that new appearance to the floor.
If you have done this please let me know how you got on, or if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below.
Telling the difference between lacquer and oil.
I get countless emails and comments on my youtube videos from people wanting to know the difference between a floor that has been oiled and a floor that has been lacquered.
Firstly I would like to clear up on definitions. Americans can call alcohol or other acids/solvent-based products ‘oil-based’, whereas we call it solvent-based.
When I say oil I mean hardwax oil which contains no polyurethane or acrylic. Examples are Osmo Hardwax Oil, Treatex Hardwax Oil and Blanchon Hardwax Oil. Many wood floors are finished with hardwax oil.