Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Shining happy flooring

I spent most of Monday shining our hardwoods.

We applied water-based polyurethane two years ago, but daily grit had dulled its sheen.

For a quick boost, I turned to an acrylic copolymer interlocking floor finish. In other words, liquid wax. It's what janitors buff on industrial floors.

This product is often sold under the brand name Top Gloss, but you can buy Rubbermaid's version at Walmart.

I first learned about Top Gloss from cleaner extraordinaire Don Aslett. It's now one of my top tools for readying a home for sale--or making any kitchen feel new. What Top Gloss does for worn vinyl floors is nothing short of a miracle!

You simply mop a thin coat or two over any clean, hard-surface floor. The finish levels itself, filling in scratches and forming a protective layer. Over time, this temporary finish will dull, especially in walkways. Either buff to renew its shine, or strip it and apply a fresh coat. At $25 a jug, it's not cheap--but it's an economical alternative to refinishing floors and much, much quicker.

(One $25 jug will cover a kitchen floor several times over. I was lucky enough to spot a half-empty jug at a yard sale, enough to do my whole house.)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am amazed at the things you manage to accomplish with a new baby! The floors look beautiful!
Susan

cdorsey said...

The floors look beautiful! Thanks for the product tip.

Catherine

CallaLilly said...

Beautiful! I adore the warmth and cleanliness of hard wood floors.

Susan Godfrey said...

Beautiful!! I'm going to have to give this stuff a try on the hardwood in my living room. It's in serious need of something!

Anonymous said...

Can this finishing product be used only on wood..can it be put on tile {regular kitchen tile not ceramic}? Your floor looks amazing! You mentioned before you would evidentually move 1to your permanent "forever" home..is this next move to be that one?

Meredith said...

Anna, yes, this product works great on tile. It's used on any non-porous hard surface, from the industrial tiles you see in schools to hardwoods to vinyl.

As for forever home, the next move is probably not the one. We are going to look for one with an eye to staying there longer than 2 years, but our long term plan is to move from the city to a more rural area.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I thought of another question...is this floor product very slippery? I imagain it is but I was in a bank one time and although the floors had just been redone and were beautifully shiney they said the product also had a non slip quality built in and that was a good thing...especially in a commercial building! Just wondering in case we used it in a bathroom.
Isen't it hard Meredith to have to keep decorating with an eye towards what would be best for resale etc on each house? To not make it "your own". Your house is beautiful and we have loved seeing your progress on it. You definately put your stamp on it with lots of work and love and it shows. I can only imagain your joy when you do find your "forever" house. As you said you are working towards that goal..one house at a time.

Anonymous said...

Hi, your floors look beautiful! Our house is on the market and the hardwoods don't look that great. When I saw your post, I decided that it would be well worth the money for us to use it. We looked everywhere yesterday and can't find it. Can you give me any more information on the product? Thanks!

jennifer

Anonymous said...

I know you already stated that it can be used on any non-porous surface, but do you really think that includes stained concrete? I would love to know if so!! Ours could sure use a facelift. Also would love to know, like the other commentor, if it is slippery or not.

The floors look positively beautiful!!!!

Anonymous said...

For those wondering about slippery floors with Top Gloss and which surfaces it is good for, from www.cleanreport.com,
"Arm your floors to handle daily traffic and cleaning without losing their glow. Scuff and slip resistant, Top Gloss works wonders on vinyl, sealed wood, concrete, stone and Mexican tiled floors.

One quart covers approximately 300 sq feet. Not recommeded for use on ceramic tile, marble, laminate or unfinished wood floors."

Anonymous said...

Thanks Emily for answering so many of our questions!! Our floors will certainly look better thanks to you and Meredith's information!

Meredith said...

Thanks, Emily. I've had to be out of the house most of the day for the inspection. The bottle of finish I used says it's okay for ceramic tile, as well.

Anonymous, I have actually never used the brand Top Gloss, but one of the many commercial products that do the same thing. Home Depot sells a product in its cleaning section that's called something like "Wet Look" interlocking floor finish. Last year I bought Rubbermaid floor finish in the hardware department of Walmart. The first time I ever used this type of product I went to a janitorial supply store and told them what I wanted, they gave me a jug produced by whatever supply company they used.
Hope this helps!

Meredith said...

Also, I don't know if it is slippery on other surfaces. I have only used it on wood and a vinyl kitchen floor, neither of which were slippery afterward.

Anonymous said...

I bought something like it at Wal-Mart and my concrete is looking good. Hubby noticed as soon as he walked in last night. Thanks Meredith!

Anonymous said...

My response may be too late, but Thank YOU, Meredith! We are preparing our house to go on the market, and were wondering what we could do to make our floors look prettier (we had them professionally refinished when we bought the house 2 years ago, but there has been much wear). We haven't found it yet, but are going to the local janitorial supply store this week! So lucky that I stumbled upon your blog a while back and was able to find your advice. I'm a non-blogging lurker, and thought I'd take the opportunity to return the favor.

Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus said...

I just did this (with the Rubbermaid version) on my floors in my new house and WOW. It looks a million percent better. Thank you so much for the tip!