I had my floors redone about 5 years ago. The floors look in above average condition. I'd like to apply another coat. There are a handful of areas I need a little wood filler. Outside of adding some filler and sanding those areas down, would there be anything else to do besides cleaning out dust and adding another coat. Can an additional coat or two be applied to an entire floor over the existing coats, or does the whole thing need to be sanded down?
Overall, I'd like to add another coat or two to keep the floors in a position so they don't need to be professionally done, yet I don't want to mess them up. Thanks for the suggestions!
No, you can't just simply add another coat or 2, you have to sand it down first, then sand between coats, otherwise the polyurethane will not get absorbed by the wood and just sit there and form ripples or puddles. Do it right, get a pro.
No, you can't just simply add another coat or 2, you have to sand it down first, then sand between coats, otherwise the polyurethane will not get absorbed by the wood and just sit there and form ripples or puddles. Do it right, get a pro.
He does not want it absorbed by the wood, he wants additional coverage of what is already on there. A very light sanding followed by an additional coat is all that is needed. No pro needed.No different that putting an additional coat on wood trim after years of exposure.
If you have used any wax or cleaner polishes with synthetic chemicals to give it a shine then any new coat may fail, you know what has been used over the years otherwise a light scuffing is all thats needed. I would clean it real good and rent a floor buffer and use a fine pad equal to 2-300 grit, wipe dust with a damp rag and recoat. A buffer and pad might be 50-75$ to rent
"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in news:H9CdnbKFCrTYXGvXnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
I'll toss in a tad more detail which many understand is implied.
Read the product label. Product specific info may negate anything below. It will also recommend wait time for walking, light & heavy furniture return, recoat intervals. Do that light sanding. Vacuum EVERYTHING in the room including lights, tops of window moldings, etc.etc Let the dust settle for hours. Hang up some cheapo $1 plastic painters sheets in doorways. Turn off forced air HVAC (for a couple of hrs after application). Tack cloth the floor. Wipe down with paint thinner. Note: I know this is recommended for "oil" base. I DO NOT know about water based. Apply with a lambs wool pad on a pole. Use a paint rollor pan as the supply. The faster you get it down the better. No lines. I'd leave area rugs off for 2-4 weeks.
I'm no pro. Just my experience on work that came out flawless.
Water-based poly is a bit different. The foam T-bar applicators work great, better than a lambs wool pad which holds too much finish. T- bars also come in 18" widths and let you cut-in right up to the baseboard. Makes it a lot faster, which you need with water-based, particularly the catalyzed stuff. With water-based do not use a pan, just pour the stuff on the floor in a strip and start spreading.
You also listed the dust barrier and HVAC thing after performing the sanding. I usually do the dust protection before sanding. ;) When sanding and for a while afterwards, put a fan in a window blowing out. That will create negative pressure and keep the dust from migrating through the house. When applying the finish, have everything sealed and nor fan blowing or windows open to keep dust out of the finish.
And, of course, you can add maintenance coats to a floor finish. A light screening and a thorough clean-up is all that is needed. Waiting too long until the finish is dead is why sanding the old finish off completely has to be done (assuming the color is okay and no deep gouges). Every sanding removes some life from the floor. A typical 3/4" hardwood floor has somewhere between five and seven sandings before the nails start showing through. If you can avoid sanding off the finish entirely, by all means do so.
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