Wrong product on wooden flooring
It's thankfully not too often we are called to a job where a customer has used the wrong product on a wooden floor. In this case, an oiled floor was treated for over two years with the wrong product. Instead of the refresher oil which should have been used, hardwood polish & restorer was applied.
The results were not great, and an expensive wooden floor that was purchased to complement the aesthetics of the 17th-century cottage became the opposite of the desired finish. Instead of a natural wood finish, the more that the polish/restorer was applied, the worse the situation became.
Believing the flooring would require sanding to restore and having previously been advised against it by the original installer, the customer lived with an undesirable appearance.
Issues that occur when using wooden floor polish & restorer:
Even when using polish or restorer on the finishes that the product was intended for, overuse or not following application instructions can lead to an unsatisfactory appearance. Check our article for Revitalising Wood Floors for information on floor polish stripping.
The engineered oiled oak flooring in the photo above grew glossy and patchy in appearance. The contrast to the original finish can be seen in the bottom left of the photo, where a cabinet had stood.
Stephanie sent photos and measurements, and from them, we quickly assessed that something wasn't quite right with the appearance of the floor. We suggested that it appeared polish had been used on an oiled floor. Fortunately, Stephanie still had a product that had been applied, and we felt reasonably confident we could resolve the situation without reverting to sanding the floor.
With these sorts of situations, you can never offer a guarantee that all would be successful. The wrong product had been used and applied at least eight times over a couple of years. However, we assured her that we have many years of experience in wooden floor cleaning and sealing, so we scheduled the job.
Cleaning oiled wooden flooring normally requires the minimum level of a liquid solution, however, in this case, chemically dissolving the layers of polish meant the solution has to be kept wet. Making sure it wasn't left for too long that it may damage the floor, or too short, that the product didn't have adequate time to react, was a delicate balance.
This work is not for the fainthearted, or for those without a high level of professional skill and experience.
Having achieved another near miracle by removing two years worth of product that was never intended for use on an oiled floor, we were back into safe territory. Finishing the floor applying an Osmo hard wax oil, restored it to its original appearance, leaving it protected and once again looking it's best.
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