How to polish wooden floors effectively?

It is important that we take care of the floors, as they form an important part of home decoration.

Wooden floors require maintenance to retain all their splendor; But how do you buff and polish wooden floors effectively?

The floor of a house is continually exposed to aggression's: footprints on heels, scratches from animals, objects that fall to the ground, or furniture that is dragged. No matter how hard it is, it is susceptible to degradation with scratches or wear.

Fortunately, we can restore the shine of our damaged floor. One of the most common techniques is grinding, also known as “stabbing”, which consists of sanding the floors and then applying a new finish. This process is very expensive and aggressive for wood, so it is recommended to do it on heavily damaged floors.

As the alternative to stabbing is the technique of polishing and waxing. These processes are much easier and simpler and allow us to recover the original shine, equalize imperfections, and extend the maintenance of the wood.

Polishing or waxing: which technique should we choose?

Before we get down to work, we must ask ourselves a question: which technique is best for my floor, polished or waxed? There is no single and effective way to polish floors, but depending on the characteristics, qualities and finishes of our floor, we will choose one technique or another.

Those with a protective surface, for example a waterproof barrier, will benefit from polishing; whereas floors with penetrating finishes or unsealed wood require wax instead of polishing. The application of the wrong technique can even cause damage.

Therefore, it is important to determine what type of material we have. To do this, we can remove a bit of the surface finish from an area that is not visible. If a transparent material comes off when tearing, it means that the floor has a surface finish.

The most suitable technique is polishing. Otherwise, we will opt for the wax-up technique.

How to polish the floors?

The first step before repairing our floor is to subject it to a deep cleaning. To do this, we must start by removing all the furniture and removing any remaining dirt and dust. We can use any floor cleaner on the market. You can view some of our articles that talked about cleaning wooden floors here.

Once the floor has dried completely, we will begin with the polishing of the surface. The effective technique for this process is with a grit disc polisher. The thickness of the polisher will depend on how damaged the floor is. In the event that it has many aggression's, we will opt for a coarse sandpaper and then a finer one. If not, a fine sandpaper will suffice.

After having eliminated the damage, we will apply an enamel or varnish so that the wood recovers its original shine. To obtain a better finish, we will use a flat surface climber and we will spread the product in the direction of the wood grain.

Lastly, we will repeat the above process one last time to make sure our product has been sealed. The end result will be a sticky floor for a few hours and once it has dried it will regain its shine as if it were new.

How to wax floors?

The most effective way to restore the shine and splendor of untreated wood floors is through the waxing technique. This process is one of the most popular thanks to the benefits it provides:

The wax increases resistance to stains, since its sealing limits the absorption of spills and prevents the floor from staining.

Another benefit we found is that it helps us minimize minor imperfections, such as the appearance of scratches and surface marks.

On the other hand, it prolongs the useful life of the floor, since the greater resistance of the waxed floors allows the wood to last longer than the non-waxed floors.

Comparison of products to polish floors

The application of this product is a much simpler process compared to polishing. Thorough cleaning is required to avoid any specks of dust. We must also make sure that the entire surface is dry before applying the product.

In turn, it is important not to apply excessively. We can use a mop and incorporate the wax over the entire surface on a regular basis. Once the product has dried, our floors will look like the first day. If you don't have enough time doing all this, you can always contact us at Modern Floor Sanding, we can help you polish your wooden floors effectively.