What is the best method for polishing hardwood floors?

Question

I have tried several store bought "cleaners/polishers", but none seem to give my floors the shine that I want. I want a bright glossy shine rather than dull looking floors. Thanks.

Answer 1

you will probably need to have them re varnished for that high polish shine. you can sand them down and put a new top coat to make them beautiful again

Answer 2

With some "elbow grease", some Murphys Oil Soap and a small buffer the floors will definitely clean up. To BUFF whatever original remains there are all manner of OLD and NEW technologies, and it's likely you should determine somehow, what the ORIGINAL was. 60 years old isn't an OLD house by the way...smile. I'm not a big fan of altering OLD strictly, and think you should keep the amibience of the original, NOW hard to find, REAL older Hardwoods. I'm also not strictly a fan of Poly, but use it certainly. The "sanding" will be messy, even if professionally done, but what you want to achieve aesthetically should be explored. Since you don't exactly describe the condition of the flooring, or that you even know what the original luster is/was, and without knowing the substance of any surface agents once used, or how often they may have been applied, I'd go with the cleaning first, then some quality sealer/shine agent. That allows you to at least gauge what the floors can be restored to without a huge investment in time and money. You can always do over. Steven Wolf

Answer 3

Parabond makes a product (sold at Lowe's) that I've used to restore shine to urethane-coated wood floors. If your floor has a different type of finish, such as wax, then this stuff won't work. But if the finish is urethane, don't use wax!

First you need to clean thoroughly with a vinegar and water solution, no soap, especially no oil-based cleaners. Parabond also has a cleaner that you can use to make sure there's no residue left on the wood that will dull it. Follow the instructions on the bottle. You'll need to reapply every 4-6 months.

The results for me were shiny and a huge improvement, but it doesn't fix scratces. If you want a like-new glossy finish you'll probably need to have the floors refinished.

Answer 4

If it is laminate wood flooring you shouldn't use polishes on it, if it is actual hardwood, I use white vinegar and water, you have to get down on your hands and knees and use a rag and make sure you wring the rag out good so you won't leave water spots, I never measure the vinegar, just mix with water in a small bucket. After cleaning with the white vinegar I apply a coat of Orange Glo for hardwood floors and they shine like new.

Answer 5

It actually begins with what you have now. That is, if the original floor was finished in a satin finish and you are trying to achieve a high gloss, then you would actually have to refinish it with a high gloss finish.
Highly probable is that it is finished in satin as I find that in most cases that is the customers preferred finished look. (The customer is always right ...no matter what my advice may be to him or her) You (and I) are probably among the few that like the high gloss look as the high gloss shows off the perfection of the workmanship in the laying of the floor much more-so than does a satin finish.
That said, if you do refinish the floor, don't let an amateur do it. Should you still decide to do it yourself, remember, one mistake, even one little wrong move with the floor sander will be seen forever, or will cost a ton of time (assuming that one little error doesn't grow into a larger error).
Good luck in your decisions.

Answer 6

Well, first it helps to have some hard wood floor polish. Then, you use the polish on the hard wood floor.

Viola!

Answer 7

murphy's oil for hardwoods- or orange oil works best

Answer 8

on your hands and knees
and polish polish polish....

Answer 9

hire a professional. Trust me, I just did.