I am about to refinsh oak flooring in my home that originally had a wax finish. (Bruce Flooring 1980’s). Even if thoroughly sanded I am told that it is risky to refinish the flooring with anything else than a wax finish. Is there any finish or steps that I can take to insure proper adhesion of a new finish. Would a coat of sanding sealer help? Any suggestion would be appreciated. I am hoping that I don’t have to refinish with a wax finish again.
Thanks
Edited 6/9/2009 11:34 am ET by toolszeke
Replies
Are you sure that the finish was wax? That would be really uncommon for a 1980's floor, unless it was installed and waxed by the homeowner.
In any case -- if there is wax that has gotten into the wood, then you'll have a hard time applying anything and getting good result. Wax has a habit of repelling most finishes.
There are some lacquer products, for which you can buy and additive that will help.
Good luck.
Thanks for your advice. Bruce made a pre-finished floor in the 80's that supposedly had a wax finish. For regular maintenance they recommended applying paste was to the floor twice a year.
As an experiment I started on my 75 square foot foyer. I sanded the floor and hand scraped and sanded the dust grooves between the boards. A flooring supplier (I wasn't the first person that came to them about this) said that it the finish fails it should do so with 4 or 5 months. I plan to follow your advice and use a lacquer. I also am going to try a small area where I will first apply some Kwik Poly before I apply the topcoats. I guess the worst thing that can happen is I have to tear out the flooring and install new flooring. I'll let you know in a couple of months how it turns out.
Thanks again
Vulkem?
that would be interesting....
give it a try and get back to us...
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