Hardwood Floor Finishing – Missed Spots
I just put the third coat of Varathane oil poly (satin) on my living room floors, yeterday. Today I was able to closely check my work out and noticed that I have a couple small spots that were missed, by the pad not being pressed firmly enough as I dragged it across. Those missed spots, even though only a few square inches each, stand out since the second coat was sanded in preparation for the final coat…..therefore the dull second coat is evident in those spots.
Is there any way to touch up those spots? I was thinking of thinning out a some poly and wiping it on in those spots. I’m hoping that by wiping it on and thinning it out considerably, the edges of the touch up will blend well.
Does anyone have any thoughts? I don’t want to put another coat as I think it will start to look plastic.
Many thanks in advance for any help.
Paul
Replies
Paul
if you'd used shellac you would have discovered those spots 15 minutes after you applied the finish. the next coat will blend everything together perfectly..
By the way shellac is harder than Poly and much more durable. Not to mention that it can be done in a couple of hours with no fuss and for much less cost..
Frenchy, tell the guy how to solve his problem, don't tell him he should have used a different product. The product he used is suitabl;e for floors, so work with it."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
FastEddie,
I'm on a differant mission.. Kind of dutch uncle type of help.. You may not like to hear what I'm saying but so far nobody has shown that I'm wrong and several people have pointed out exactly how valid it is..
I honestly feel for guys who are sold things that may be less than what they should have.. So while it's probably too late for this gentleman, hopefully many will read this and either rethink their choices or at least look into it..
Being in this position is awkward. Often it makes me the bad guy when I'm just trying to help.. I know it's a thankless position but if I don't keep talking about shellac who's going to counter the common perception out there about what's the best finish for a floor?
i had this problem and got a spray can of poly from hd and "dusted " in the areas. look pretty good after a few days took some 000 steel wool and blended them together. you could still see it a little but after about 6 months of use i woudn't be able to find them today. check lowes i think they sell varathane.
doesn't it piz you off though,i would of fired myself if i could. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Edited 8/27/2007 5:47 pm by alwaysoverbudget
Thanks for the good idea, Alwaysoverbudget. That sounds like it will work OK.Also, question for Frenchy. I don't doubt that shellac may provide a nice floor finish....it's one of my favorites for furniture. However, every time somebody spills a drop of beer, wine or spirits on it, it's going to dissolve! After all this is a living room, and I don't happen to be Mormon. How do you address that issue?Paul
Edited 8/27/2007 11:42 pm ET by PaulFoster
or the issue of water on it say from a plant that weeped over its catch basin and didn't get caught in time..
I know shelac is easy to touch up but many folks would just let it go... then more water , then staining in the wood... poly is really a better product for the maintnance impared.
james
james,
Please read my reponse to Paul about water..
and yes you can damage anything if you neglect it.. but part of our nature of neglect is because we've learned that "fixing" things is hard..
Shellac fixes so easy that it would be a sin to just let it go,, that would be almost like failing to wipe your butt after visiting the bathroom..
Whoa, that's one of the best analogies I've ever heard. I'll put that in my repertoire.
MGMaxwell,
Can't claim originality so use away! ;-)
and I don't happen to be Mormon.
Next time I see the two guys with white shirts and ties riding their bicycles down the street I'll send them over and get you converted, in the mean time try not to spill any of the spirits!
Doug
Paul
Three things affect shellac.. water left for prolonged periods (I'll address that later) ammonia or ammonia based cleaning products, and alcohol..
Spill alcohol and you simply wipe it up.. then drink more carefully..<G> Single malt scotches and fine wines really shouldn't be slopped around.. (big ol' grin) {more in a minute}
Water if wiped up reasonably quickly won't do anything.. I had an air condioner plug up and overflow this summer. I don't know how long it did so, probably many hours because it took several towels to wipe it up.. it never turned white..
Alcohol and ammonia do damage shellac but it takes but a minute to repair. Each application of shellac blends perfectly with the layers below it and makes a flawless repair.. so you spilt a drink or something next weekend take a little shellac and some denatured alcohol and the spot will disappear inside of 20 minets three minutes to go down and get the shellac a minute to add some fresh denatured alcohol to it, and a minute to brush it on..
Don't bother to clean the brush because you can simply let it get hard and next time you spill a drink soak it in denatured alcohol for a few minutes and it will be ready to go..
Shellac can be damaged but nothing can be repaired as easily or as quickly.