How to polish hardwood floors with buffer

Q: Can you polish a floor with a buffer?

Using a commercial floor buffer to maintain your facilitys floors will help retain the shine of your floor finish and remove dirt, soils, and scuff marks. You can perform a variety of floor cleaning and maintenance procedures with a floor buffer, like cleaning, stripping, and spray buffing.

Express Flooring How To Buff A Hardwood Floor

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Simple guide on how to buff a wood floor:
Can you buff or polish hardwood floors?
Can you use a floor buffer on hardwood floors?
Does buffing make hardwood floors shine?
Can you polish a floor with a buffer?

Although hardwood flooring is considered one of the durable ones, there are a few things that damage even hardwood surfaces. For example scratches from heels or pets. Even when you move around furniture, some of them can leave marks on your floor. If you don’t clean your hardwood the way you should, the dirt grains could end up damaging the floor. Over time, your hardwood may not look the way you wanted it to. Luckily, there’s a solution for that. You don’t need to refinish your entire floor. You can just buff out the scratches and make your floors look new again. Here is a simple guide on how to buff your floor.

Simple guide on how to buff a wood floor:

Before starting the process, if there are any old compounds such as wax or oil, you have to remove it. The presence of these substances will inhibit the buffing process on your hardwood installation. So use a low-odor mineral spirit to clean it. Let the floor dry, and clean the floor to get rid of any dirt or dust on the floor.

Keep ready your floor buffer and the buffing and polishing pads. Install the buffing pads and screen on the buffer. You have to control the machine well. Don’t apply too much pressure. You can control the direction by pulling the handle up or pushing it down. Walk-in a straight line with the machine across the length of the room and then turn around again. You should overlap the previous run to make sure every little inch of the floor is covered. The machine gets too bulky to use closer to the walls. So you can do it with hand using a drywall pad and screen. Be careful not to damage your baseboards.

Once you finish all that, vacuum the floor thoroughly. Remove dust from any walls, window sills, and baseboards also. Make the place dust-free. For the stubborn grains, you can use a damp towel to get it all off.

After this, the next step is to apply your finish. Mix the bottle a little but you don’t want to do it such that air bubbles are formed. Pour it into the tray. You can choose an applicator that you find convenient. Preferably one with a long handle as it would be easier to use. Dip the applicator into the finish. Start from the corner of the room and follow the grain of the board. Just run it across the room. The application should neither be too light nor too heavy. Usually, two coats are better than one coat. Remember to wait for a little between each coat. After this allow it to dry well before bringing back the furniture. Avoid allowing kids into the room because the room may contain strong fumes for a while.

It is advised to rent a buffing machine instead of buying one as this is a once in a while procedure. As you read, you don’t require the help of a hardwood professional for buffing. You can very well do it at home. It is a pretty viable option as compared to a complete refinishing of your floors.

So your old wood floor doesn’t shine like it used to, huh? If that’s the case, it’s time to get out your buffer and get to work. Here are some tips on using a buffer on your wood floors:

Condition matters
In order for this to work, your floor has to be in relatively good shape. If the wood is cracked in several places, you will probably want to consider doing repairs before worrying about doing buffing.

Preparation
Before starting, make sure the entire floor is cleared. Once you have done that, sweep it up and use a dust mop on it. You won’t want that extra grit and grime mixing up with your buffer.

Buffering – Phase 1
Attach a cleaning pad to the buffer and apply a spray of mineral spirits onto it. This moistens the pad and will lessen the friction. Now, apply some mineral sprit to a small area of the floor. If you do too large of an area or the liquid will dry up. Keep track of the areas that you do and figure out a path that is most efficient for you to move in.

Buffering – Phase 2
After you have used the cleaning pad, go over your floor again with the dust mop to remove any left over residue. After mopping, Remove the cleaning pad and attach the polishing pad. Go over the entire floor in a consistent pattern. After you’re done with that, wipe the floor off again and put all of your furniture back in the room.

Can you buff or polish hardwood floors?

You can buff hardwood floors by hand, but it may be easier to rent to an electric buffing machine. A buffing machine helps work the wax into the hardwood to help provide a protective layer against moisture, dust and dirt.

Can you use a floor buffer on hardwood floors?

Floor buffers are designed to polish and remove wax at the same time. If you use a buffer over your natural hardwood floors, you will severely scratch it and eventually remove the finish together.

Does buffing make hardwood floors shine?

Buffing or Screening A screening or buffing uses a fine grit of sandpaper only loosening up the top layer of the polyurethane. This is a great way to remove surface scratches and dirt from your floors. An application of polyurethane adds a coat of protection and sparkle back to your hardwood floors!

Can you polish a floor with a buffer?

Using a commercial floor buffer to maintain your facility's floors will help retain the shine of your floor finish and remove dirt, soils, and scuff marks. You can perform a variety of floor cleaning and maintenance procedures with a floor buffer, like cleaning, stripping, and spray buffing.