How To Identify Hardwood Floor Finish

If the finish dissolves this time then you can be assured you have a shellac finish.

How to identify hardwood floor finish.

Successfully refinished hardwood flooring can bring a new shine to your old floor. Knowing this will allow you to choose the proper cleaning chemicals and procedures to use as well as determining a course of action for periodic maintenance of wood floors. You often can tell what kind of wood your floor is made from just by looking at it. Examining the condition of the finish relative to the age of the floor is one way to identify an aluminum oxide finish.

You can however learn techniques to identify a floor finish. Brush up on the basics of 8 popular options before choosing yours. When it s not hardwood it may appear rather sturdy but just because you ve found a gorgeous wood floor in your living space doesn t mean it is hardwood. Need help identifying a tool or material for refinishing hardwood flooring.

If nothing happens move on to the next test. Improper techniques can damage wood floors resulting in astronomical repair bills. How can you properly clean hardwood floors without knowing the finish that was applied. This time apply a small amount of denatured alcohol to the finish and do the same process.

Identifying the type of finish that is applied to a wood floor is necessary in order to determine the best maintenance procedures. In order to clean repair stain or treat the wood flooring you will need to correctly identify the type of hardwood under your feet. Test 2 is it shellac. Unfinished solid hardwood flooring has a penetrating finish which does as the name implies.

Assuming there is no stain finish or preservative on or in the wood quickly sand saw or otherwise machine a section of the wood in question and take a whiff of the aroma. It is absorbed into the floor and then topped off by a coat of floor wax. Many species such as oak pine and fir are easily recognizable. Although new scents can be very difficult to express in words many times the scent of an unknown wood may be similar to other known scents.

Because this type of finish is applied at the factory it s thicker and harder than a on site polyurethane finish. Learning how to refinish hardwood floors involves taking care during the sanding process and the application of finish. Finishing expert peter gedrys explains how you can test you floors to determine the finish used. Find products fast with image search in the home depot app.

How to find out what type of wood floor you have.