A client's 1920s oak floor went from dull to glowing in a week

I was called in to look at this original oak floor in an old house in St. Louis. The homeowner had tried to clean it with a store-bought wax, which left a cloudy, sticky film everywhere. I started with a thorough buffing using a 175 RPM machine and a specific stripping pad, which took off the old gunk. Then I applied three thin coats of a water-based finish, sanding lightly with 220-grit paper between each one. The difference from the first day to the last was night and day. For those of you who work on historic homes, what's your go-to method for dealing with old wax buildup?

3 comments

3 Comments

sage28619d ago

My old shop swore by chemical strippers for wax. Seeing that buffing pad method work so cleanly on a 1920s floor has me reconsidering the whole process. It looks a lot less messy.

park.adam19d ago

1920s floor" is what got me, @sage286. Those old boards can be so fragile with harsh chemicals. A clean buffing job on that sounds like a total game changer for real.

butler.mark18d ago

Yeah, the "fragile with harsh chemicals" part is so true. I had a 1920s sunroom floor that a light buff with a white pad and some neutral cleaner brought right back. It saved the original finish and was way less stressful than stripping.