Buff and recoat
Dull, not damaged? One day, one coat, done.
A buff and recoat abrades the old finish and lays a fresh topcoat over it. No sanding to bare wood, no stain, no three-day cure. The cheapest thing you can do for a hardwood floor, and the one most people wait too long to do.
The idea
Finish wears. Wood should not.
The polyurethane on a hardwood floor is a sacrificial layer. Chairs, dogs, grit from the driveway, the traffic lane from the kitchen to the back door: all of that wears the finish, and as long as it stays on the finish, the wood underneath is untouched.
A recoat adds finish back before the wear reaches wood. Do it every few years and a floor never needs a full sanding. Skip it, and the traffic lane goes grey, water gets into the boards, and the next step is sanding away a thirty-second of an inch the floor will never get back.
Specifications
How a recoat runs
Questions
What people ask about recoating
What is the difference between a buff and recoat and refinishing?
A buff and recoat (also called screen and recoat) abrades only the top layer of the existing finish and lays one new coat over it. It does not touch the wood, so it cannot remove deep scratches, stains, or change the color. Refinishing sands to bare wood. Recoat is one day and a fraction of the cost; refinishing is two to four days.
How do I know if my floor qualifies?
The finish must be intact. If water beads on the floor it is a candidate. If there are grey or black spots where the wood is bare, deep gouges, or the floor has ever been waxed or treated with a silicone polish, a recoat will not bond and the floor needs a full sand. We test a spot at the estimate.
How often should a floor be recoated?
Every three to five years in a busy home, longer in a quiet one. The point is to add finish before the wear goes through to the wood. Once it does, the only fix is a full sanding, which removes wood the floor will never get back.
Can you change the sheen?
Yes. Going from gloss or semi-gloss to satin is one of the most common reasons people call. Satin hides scratches, dust and dog hair far better and reads more current. The reverse (satin to gloss) also works but shows every flaw.