How to apply finish on hardwood floor

Finish application on hardwood flooring

Why applying finish on hardwood floor is necessary

Hardwood floor is a natural material and requires finish application no matter whether you plan to stain the floor or not in order to protect it from damages and prolong its lifespan. The floor will be more scratch, dents, and water resistant. In addition, finish application will give the hardwood flooring some shine which makes it more appealing and elegant.

Step-by-step instruction

If homeowners want to save on an applying finish procedure, they might do it without any hesitation. It is almost like to mop the floor, but instead of water you need to use finish and instead of the mop you should use a paint roller. The only obstacle that might opt out you from the idea is the notion of using the buffer in between each coat of finish. For the best result it is recommended to apply finish tree times or at least two if it is high quality oil based finish.

Step #1

Prepare the hardwood floor. Normally sending is required before any finish application. Some homeowners might want to stain the floor as well if they desire to get some color other than its natural. Remember, though, that sanding is normally not the thing you can try to cut the cost on. It is a harder work than it might seem like because to do everything correctly requires lots of practice. Otherwise, you might end up replacing the flooring completely. Therefore, if you won’t be comfortable with operating belt or drum sander it might be better to hire a professional contractor to perform this part.

Step #2

Buff the floor in order to get rid of some minor imperfections on it. If your budget is low you can do buffing by yourself. Normally this work won’t require too much affords from your side. You can rent a buffer for one or two days and return it when you complete the project.

Step #3

Clean it after you’ve buffed it. You need to use a powerful vacuum cleaner to get rid of all dust and dirt. It is normally not recommended to mop the floor even a little bit. You should remove everything from the hardwood flooring each time you buffed it.

Step #4

Use a regular paint brush to cut in around any edges the room has. This will ensure that when you start rolling your paint roller it won’t bump against adjacent areas. This procedure will definitely speed up your next step.

Step #5

Use a paint roller to apply the desired finish liberally to the floor. It is necessary to do the finish application according to the manufacturers’ instructions which you can read from the labels.

Step #6

After the finish will completely dry out (different finishes have different drying periods – see the labels’ directions), buff the hardwood floor again.

Step #7

Repeat the steps 4 through 7 one more times and lastly do it over steps 4 through 6 in order to get the most desired results. Once you applied the last coat of finish you don’t need to buff the hardwood flooring after that.