I got in the mail a flyer for one of these sandless floor refinishing companies (Mr. Sandless to be exact but there must be others).
Apparently they lightly abrade the existing finish, plus clean up the exposed wood using a cleaning solution and a rotary buffing machine.
Has anybody had any experience with these things? It sounds like a modification of the Bona-Kemi process?
Replies
As they say, anything that sounds too good to be true probably isn't. In this case the key words are 'existing finish.' If the finish is finished, no scuff and buff job is going to do much except clean the dirt off.
If the finish isn't finished, OTOH, the floor doesn't need to be refinished. So why would you pay somebody refinishing rates to do heavy spring cleaning?
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
I used them one time, if the floor is in fair shape you get a fair result. You could go to HD and get the minwax twin pack and do it yourself for far less.
Nether process will make up for lost color or stain.
As they boast in their web site, they specialize in floors where the finish is worn to the wood in places. They say they use a "special cleaner" to remove the dirt, using a buffer-style machine. [My guess is that this both cleans the wood and scuffs any remaining finish.]
They then apply a NO-ODOR!!!!, 3-HOUR DRY TIME!!! finish. [Sorry, my informercial watching has gotten to me]. Although they make it sound like it is a urethane, I strongly doubt it. I am guessing that it is some sort of acrylic finish.
So........I am curious if anybody has had experience with the aftermath of this work. Does it last? They say it does (if you put runners and other floor protectors down). I tend to doubt it.
It sounds like a prime scam to me. There are water-based urethane floor finishes which are advertised to be 'no odour' and dry in 3 hours, but most professionals avoid them after one trial since those claims are pretty hyperbolaïc. The product also does not last as long as oil-based urethanes.
In any event, just scrubbing the floor and slapping some water-thane on it is going to do absolutely nothing to match colour in those spots where the finish was really gone beforehand. All it'll do is make it kinda shiny for a while. Mop-n-Glo will do the same damned thing for a heck of a lot less dough....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Edited 12/1/2009 2:17 pm ET by Dinosaur