easiest way to restore the luster and shine to old hardwood floor?

Question

I have uncovered my hardwood floor which has has carpeting on it for 50yeasrs. It is in good shape color is fine still has a bit of a shine but I would like to give ir a good cleaning and shine, it will have heavy traffic, the easiest way possible, as I am not up to too much labor intensive work. I have seen restoring kits at HD and LOWES, would this be a possibility?

Answer 1

Get a bottle of "Mop And Glo" . It is a floor wax that is a quick and easy product, that you put on with a sponge mop. It dries in about 20 minutes. The first time you use it apply a second coat. Your floor will look like new again. If it is really dirty,you will need to wash it first! I have my own cleaning business and have used this product for years . It is like a dream come true.

Answer 2

Clean it with a GOOD floor cleaner and then see what it looks like.
If you like the "old" look about all you can do is wax as needed.

If you want to "refinish", but still "look old" you have to be sure to remove ALL the old wax coating, then since you specify "heavy traffic", I would coat with at least 2 coats of polyurethane. For HIGH gloss use "gloss", but I prefer the "satin" finish myself over older floors.

MORE WORK and NEW look.
Rent a floor sander, and sand off ALL the old finish. Finish the same as above, but use a "stain" finish, if you want to change the color, for the first coat, and at least 2 clear coats over this. (3 coats total!)

NOTE: I am considered TOTALLY disabled, age 62, and could STILL do ANY of the above!! (Am currently building a house on some property I own ! )

Answer 3

The best way to get the floors looking good is to rent a sander. It is a pretty easy job, you can do it yourself in a couple of hours. Then you could try the restoring kits to give the floor some shine. This site has some helpful tips.


http://www.free-flooring.com/

Answer 4

OK, LETS TALK. Fifty years is a long time. Most of these kids weren't born. You and I were so, here is my advice. Buy a palm sander (better known as a 1/4 sheet sander, cause 1 sheet of sand paper cut in four pieces will barely fit it.) Take your time and sand the floor to remove the top coat of the old finish (not the wood). Clean up the dust and put two coats of MinWax polyurethane on, you will love it. I used gloss

Answer 5

Oh joy how wonderful. That is what I thought when the same thing happened to me.

What we did was to rent a sander, then make sure you sweep and sweep and sweep up any and all dirt, dust, etc. We use a wet/dry vac. Then wash the floor with a mild cleaner. Let the floor dry. After that put on a coat or two of poly urethane, carefully ..... and voile ....... beautiful floors!!! To keep them clean and shiny and nice I washed my floors with Murphy's Oil Soap.

I love hardwood floors, can you tell??!! They are better than carpeting and easier to take care of too.

Answer 6

Try tea bags,boil 15-20 tea bags in half a gallon of water and wash the floor with it,gives it a shine and also a nice smell. Or vinager and water mixture works too.

Answer 7

You either have a floor that (a) needs resanding, (b) needs screening, (c) needs cleaning.

Sanding's a big deal. Screening is a less deal. Cleaning is pretty easy.

I would try cleaning first, then screening (the link explains), then sanding.

I have the impression from you said cleaning might be enough. But if it isn't, screening might do the trick.

Answer 8

Get down on you hands and knees and clean it real well with Murphy's soap. Our floors are over 100 years old and still look pretty good.

Answer 9

Try mopping it with Murphy's to see if you get the results you are looking for.

Answer 10

clean it ,sand it, polyeurethene it