Tip: To make the applicator pad, brushes and paint pads more pliable and responsive right from the start, rinse them in water, then dry them until they are just damp to the touch. A shiny new coat of finish may even accentuate deep scratches and dents. Here are 5 easy steps to refinish hardwood flooring… Instead, use a simple chemical etching technique and apply a new topcoat of finish. Smooth the base coat out evenly around the edges with a paint brush. Or find it online. Scrub a small section of floor with the abrasive pad and the liquid etcher. Smooth out the rest of the floor with a synthetic floor finish applicator and give your base coat about 2 hours to dry. But if your floor has a lot of deep damage, sanding is your best option. If you have heavy traffic paths where the finish is completely worn away or areas where the finish is flaking off (often caused by water damage), don’t use this process. In this review, we’ll help you find the right holiday gift for your carpenter by detailing 15 of the best carpentry tools and accessories available on Amazon. The etching chemical can discolor bare wood and won’t remove water stains. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. Have your helper work along walls with a paint pad while you follow close behind with the applicator pad. Leave the room for 10 to 15 minutes to let the powder settle. With beveled-edge flooring, you may need to make multiple passes, but one steady pull is usually all it takes. Apply stain and dry it with a hair dryer. Pick two test areas on the floor: one in a high-traffic zone, the other along a wall … Buffing the floor will remove tiny sanding marks and give a completely smooth finish. How To Refinish Hardwood Floors By April / March 21, 2020 March 21, 2020 There is nothing like the joy that you experience when you move into a new home, tear up the nasty old carpet … If the tenant moved out, hopefully that’s the case. In that case, sanding is your best option. You will raise vast amounts of dust while sanding, so separate the work area from the rest of the house by covering the doors and windows, as well as air vents, with plastic sheeting. Hardwood Floor Repair: How to Patch a Hardwood Floor, How to Lay Hardwood Floor With a Contrasting Border, DIY Hardwood Floors: Lay a Contrasting Border, Want Shiny Hardwood Floors? To limit air movement, close windows, turn off the ceiling fan or window air conditioner, and block any ducts in the room (Photo 2). Touch up any scratches that have cut through the finish into the wood. By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine. Renew the finish on your wood floor without the hassle of sanding. The category your floor falls into depends on the amount and type of damage it has. The total bill for this project is about $100. Step 1: Buy special hardwood floor refinishing kit Refinishing kit and other tools Refinish hardwood floors with a recoating kit and the other items shown above. Then clean the room to make it as dust-free as possible. Dab on matching stain using an artist’s brush, then blot the excess stain with a rag. ft., but check the can to make sure it’s at least half full. Dip the applicator into the paint tray, but don’t squish out excess finish as you did with the etcher—that creates bubbles. Apply and spread the finish using as few strokes as possible. Smooth out drips or puddles with a polyester brush. On your next pass, switch the angle of your attack so that the applicator snowplows the wet finish across the room. With either finish, we recommend a fresh coat every two years or whenever the floor looks worn. Wear shoe covers to keep the floor clean. After 10 minutes, brush more finish along the edge, then pour and roll again for 10 minutes. You can even use it on plastic laminate flooring such as Pergo. Others will look much better, though not quite perfect. Clear the floor of furniture and clean the room thoroughly to minimize dust. (Don’t brush too fast or you may create bubbles, which will show in the finish.) Vacuum curtains and wipe down baseboards, windowsills and any other horizontal surfaces with a damp rag. Pull the applicator at an angle so the excess finish puddles on the dry side of the floor. The Varathane Renewal Floor Refinishing Kit includes enough liquid etcher and urethane finish to cover about 225 sq. ft. of flooring, plus an applicator block and pads. Normal wear and shallow scratches in the finish only (not the wood) are no problem; they’ll disappear under the new coat of finish. To treat sanded hardwood flooring, you will also have to buy stains … Sure, it's a no-brainer that dirt and dust make floors look dingy. As resilient as hardwood flooring is, after a certain amount of time it may require some maintenance to keep it looking beautiful. Check out these in-depth guides from the This Old House Reviews Team: Get the latest This Old House news, trusted tips, tricks, and DIY Smarts projects from our experts–straight to your inbox. If the scratches don't go all the way through to the wood, you can scuff-sand your floors with a buffer and apply a fresh coat or two of finish. Still others are not good candidates for this process at all and require sanding instead. The finish dries slower than most water-based floor finishes, making it easier to use. Gently plow the finish with the grain of the wood. Then move on to the next section. If you want to refinish flooring yourself as a DIY project, you’ll have to rent a commercial drum sander for about $60 a day. Your final finish will be hard enough for “sock traffic” after eight hours, and ready for you to move furniture back after 24 hours. Dip the pad in etcher and then press the pad against the tray to squeeze out the excess. Then seal the stain with floor finish from the kit. To get started, remove all the furniture from the room. The old finish turns to powder as you go, so it's easy to see the areas you've covered. To prevent this, work on small sections that you can complete in about five minutes (start with a 4 x 4-ft. area to get the hang of it). Make sure the floor is clear of any furniture. When the etcher is dry, mix 2 tbsp. The “waterborne urethane” finish included with the Renewal kit dries fast, though not as fast as most other water-based finishes. Strain the finish through a cone filter into a clean plastic watering can, minus a sprinkler head, then pour some strained finish into a small plastic container. 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