Help save my wood floor's finish!

November 19, 2008 12:20 PM

Apparently, we've done a few things you aren't suppose to do to our fairly newly finished (last year) wood floors including using a jute rug with a rubber rug pad under it. Last week I noticed the tassels on the rug were scratching the finish so I took up the rug and pad. In addition to the finish being scratched, it looks like the pad left some sort of residue on the floor. How do I get the nice finish back on our floor (the finish is a standard 3 coat poly finish)?
posted by a22lamia to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Try scrubbing it with baking soda and water.
posted by bonobothegreat at 12:34 PM on November 19, 2008

Best answer: If no surface treatment fixes it, it's possible to restore a polyurethane wood floor finish by "screening" it. Basically it's a very light sanding followed by a new coat of polyurethane. Still a mess and a pain, but much less expensive and involved than a full refinish.
posted by Nelson at 4:11 PM on November 19, 2008

YMMV, but i have had luck using some mineral spirits with a clean rag to get some tough worn in blemishes on polyurethane floors. Apply the mineral spirits on the rag, not directly on the floor and then rub in circles. If things work like they did for me, the rubber pad will come up.
Try to find out what kind of polyurethane was used when your floor was finished. Oil based or water-based. You will want to use the same kind for the re-coating.
posted by MiggySawdust at 8:10 PM on November 21, 2008