Comments on: Help save my wood floor's finish!

Question: Help save my wood floor's finish!

a22lamia — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:20:01 -0800

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)?

By: bonobothegreat

bonobothegreat — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:34:32 -0800

Try scrubbing it with baking soda and water.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:11:39 -0800

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.

By: MiggySawdust

MiggySawdust — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:10:47 -0800

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.