Wood Flooring Q&A: What Should I Do To Get Rid of Polish on a Wood Floor?

Wood floor “polishes” sold at box stores can often leave wood floors looking like this, and they must be removed before recoating.
Wood floor “polishes” sold at box stores can often leave wood floors looking like this, and they must be removed before recoating.

Johannes Boonstra, technical manager at Spicewood, Texas-based Rubio Monocoat USA, answers:

When you are applying a maintenance coat to a wood floor that was treated in the past with some kind of floor polish, you must remove that residue first by deep-cleaning the wood floor prior to abrading the floor. When you abrade the floor without removing the residual floor polish, you are just spreading it around and can expect an adhesion problem or perhaps fish-eying with the maintenance coat you are going to apply.

Many of these polishes can be removed using a recommended “deep cleaner” potent enough to dissolve the residual polish. Follow the recommendations of the coating manufacturer for such a product and/or process, and use a thick white polishing pad on the buffer to aid the cleaning process.

Test a small area first to determine its effectiveness.

If the coating manufacturer does not offer a “deep-cleaner,” you may use a TSP (tri sodium phosphate) solution. The phosphate-free alternative is called TSP-PF and contains sodium metasilicate. Both are strong high-PH cleaners. After use, neutralize the cleaned surface with a 1:9 solution of white vinegar and water.

If the polish contains a resin that can’t be successfully removed, then you don’t have much choice but to re-sand the floor and refinish.

Page 1 of 4
Next Page
Resource Book
Looking for a specific product or a company? Wood Floor Business has the only comprehensive database of the industry.
Learn More
Resource Book
Podcasts
All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.
Learn More
Podcasts