Who knows something about hardwood floors?

Question

I had shiny hardwood floors...I don't believe they have a polyurethane coating, but rather more like a wax. Well, I painted and got a few drops here and there...after consulting Yahoo answers I cleaned up the drops with a water based Goof Off. Now those parts of my floor are dirty all the time and not shiny and actually seem to collect dirt. It looks gross. How can I protect the surface w/out hiring a refinisher? I've tried Murphy's--it shines it for a day or two and then it goes right back. Is there a rub on product that might provide some more shine/and a layer of protection from dirt?

Answer 1

Try a can of spray lacquer.  It's perfect for small touch ups. I'm a contractor and have used it many times.  The Goo Gone removed your finish.

Answer 2

Well, it would help if you said a bit more about the type of finish you have... are the floors solid hardwood, or a thin veneer?  

Is the finish that's there a really old one, as in... is you house more than 50 years old? Wax is normally put over a true finish to protect it.

The Goof Off took off the actual finish, so I doubt it's polyurethane.   Probably it's a lacquer finish or a wax.

First, you can try a paste wax, if you think that's what you have.  Just buy a can of Minwax Paste Wax and put it on as you would a car wax.  Just clean, apply, let it dry, and buff.

If that does not work you may want to refinish the floor, or touch it up with a very thin coat of poly.

Answer 3

First of all never ever use Murphy's Oil Soap on a wood floor. It's like cleaning your floor with Ivory Liquid dish soap but you can't rinse it properly.

it's likely you either have wax finished or polyurethane finished flooring. There are a few oiled floors out there and a very few with acrylic finishes. There are also some older types of finishes that haven't been used in many years like shellac so we'll stick with the main two.

You can test the type of finish by putting a drop of water in an inconspicuous place. If it beads up then soaks in it's probably wax. If it evaporates without soaking in it's polyurethane. Waxed floors are generally ver slick but poly is not. Sometimes you can rub two fingers on the floor and if it's wax your fingers will get shiny.

If the spots are dirty you can clean them with some super fine steel wool and mineral spirits. If you need a color touchup apply some Minwax sealer to the spots in the proper color and let it dry. For wax,  apply some paste wax and buff to shine. It might take several applications to get a buildup and shine. If it's polyurethane you can use Minwax spray polyurethane. It's very hard to touchup poly without it looking like a touchup but this works the best. Practice on a spot that's out of the way first then make sure it's dry before walking on it.

There are other types of finish that shouldn't be used on wood floor like Future, Mop-n-Glo etc. that could have been damaged by the Goof Off. Murphy's sells a specific wood floor cleaner that's okay for wood floors. I recommend buying a spray bottle and a special wood floor mop with removable/washable terry cloth covers. Mist the cleaner ion the floor and rub with the mop until dry. This will minimize water use on the wood floor and avoid any detrimental buildup.

One more note. If you put poly on a waxed floor it generally won't stick. If you put wax on a poly floor it won't have the same buildup and can be very very slippery.