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Kansas City Fireslayer said:
The "dull" part makes me think they are finely scratched from at least the carpet. Was there a pad beneath the carpet? The dark spots make me think that moisture was trapped or water was absorbed. If the dark spots are really dark, they will most likely need to be sanded down for complete removal.
The dark spots could be animal urine. The previous owners might have had dogs or cats.
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Kansas City Fireslayer said:
The "dull" part makes me think they are finely scratched from at least the carpet. Was there a pad beneath the carpet? The dark spots make me think that moisture was trapped or water was absorbed. If the dark spots are really dark, they will most likely need to be sanded down for complete removal.
There was a pad beneath the carpet. The prior owners had a dog who spotted the carpet, but the dark areas don't consistently align with the carpet spots.
Could be shellac finish, house was built in the 1930's. I'll dab with alcohol to see what happens.
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geek2me said:
[blockquote]Kansas City Fireslayer said:
The "dull" part makes me think they are finely scratched from at least the carpet. Was there a pad beneath the carpet? The dark spots make me think that moisture was trapped or water was absorbed. If the dark spots are really dark, they will most likely need to be sanded down for complete removal.
There was a pad beneath the carpet. The prior owners had a dog who spotted the carpet, but the dark areas don't consistently align with the carpet spots.
Could be shellac finish, house was built in the 1930's. I'll dab with alcohol to see what happens.
[/blockquote]
If there is any pet odor from the spots then put down a coat or two of Sealcoat which will seal in the odors. It also adds to the finish build so it really does not add much in cost or time. Shellac dries in an half hour or so.
And it really does seal in odors (my dog tells me that is so).
If, after sanding the stains still show you probably can hide them with a dark stain. Dark stained hardwoods seem to be all the rage nowadays so it will look entirely contemporary if you do that.
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Depending on how many stains you have, you could always lace in new boards for the stained ones and then you'll know the stains will be gone after sanding. Lacing in boards isn't difficult especially if you have a Fein tool or similar.
Dark floors are pretty and the brazilian cherry we had in our old house was gorgeous. I don't miss them one bit otherwise. I will never have dark floors in a house again if I have anything to say about it because they are too much work to keep clean. I'd rather have a black truck as my daily driver and I don't want that either. If you do a new finish I'd look hard at a stain sheen. We have satin now and it's perfect. Better at hiding and less gleaming glare that requires sunglasses to walk across your house. With the satin, you see the wood. Glossy finishes glare....
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After further effort and investigation:
1. The finish appears to be poly
2. Applying household bleach to the white cloudy areas mostly cleared them up.
3. The dark areas are apparently urine - and neither bleach or vinegar made any difference. Scraped a test area down to bare wood, and the stain is into the wood to some degree, it lighted but is still visible in the grain. Unfortunately the area is too large to replace, which may be why DPOs put new Bruce-type hardwood over the original hardwood in the dining room.
Any other ideas to lighten or remove the urine stains? Any suggestions on a reasonably priced floor finish?
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Get a rag mop saturated in water and wring it till it is just slightly damp. First get the floor dry mopped or vacuumed for any loose dirt or grime. Then buff with a cloth. If you have any doubt regarding the method to be chosen consult experts in high level industrial cleaning services. Check this article on tips for cleaning hardwood floors
http://www.rbcclean.com/blog/cleaning-ti...od-floors/ Old floors are easy to clean. Make sure to vacuum the floor initialy to remove the loose soil or grit.
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I faced similar issues on a circa 1900 house. Carpet had been laid down and needed to go. I sanded down to bare wood, stained, and used a poly finish. It looked really good. I didn't feel like fighting stains and different wood colors. It wasn't bad $ wise. Few hundred for the sanders and couple hundred for stain and finish. Of course, I have no idea about longevity, since I immediately sold the house. But it seemed pretty tough
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11-15-2016, 11:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-15-2016, 11:52 AM by Cooler.)
(06-20-2016, 03:30 PM)Cooler Wrote: [blockquote]Restorer said: [...]The biggest issue for me is traffic. Notwithstanding the claims that water based dries in 24 hours they don't reach full cure for 200 hours. So you want to schedule communal areas when few people will be around (or just before a vacation).
I made a piece with a Min-Wax oil based finish over 20 years ago and that finish is noticeably harder than a 200 hour old version. So the "full cure" is probably a 90% + cure. And over the years it will cure further.
I tried scratching the 20 + year old piece with the edge of a nickel and could not make a mark. Newer pieces will scar with that abuse. But I always wait the full 200 hours before putting any finished piece to work.
I refinished the table tops for the local Starbucks and I did not deliver the tops for 7 days after finishing them to wait for the cure. They stood up really well.
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The urine stains are tough. The black is from the tannins in the wood because of the uric acid and salts. The only way to remove them is by refinishing. Even then if the stain is deep enough you will either have to remove too much wood or the heat from sanding will burn the stain making it worse. If there isn't too many sq ft of damage i would replace the boards and refinish the entire floor. Or, if practical, some rugs may cover the stains.
