for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Last Updated: , Created: Sunday, January 14th, 2001

Does the Flecto Renewal "no sanding" floor refinishing system work?

Yes. In fact it is a very good system that provides one of the hardest floor finishes available, without having to sand the old finish. But there are important details that shouldn?t be missed and some limitations that you must pay attention to.

If the floor is damaged and needs wood filler, or if there is a problem with the colour or stain of the floor, this system will not do the job. If the finish is worn, or even scratched, but not all the way through to the wood, then it can do a very good job of re-finishing the old finish that is already there.

They call it a three step system, but it is really a four step system. The step they only mention in passing is that it is critically important that you get any wax off of the old floor first. Failure to do this will cause the whole thing to fail. Get this done and then start their "three step? system.

The etching process will remove a lot of scuff marks, but if after it is over there are still scuffs or any other colour problems, you need to solve this before proceeding to the two steps of applying the finishing. If you don't, the marks will show through the final finish. A light scraping in problem areas, without going through the floor finish should get it ready for the final steps. What the etching process does is soften the old finish so that the primer will adhere well.

Then you put on the primer, which makes the transition between the old and the new finish.

Finally there is a water-borne catalytic finish which comes out as the hardest floor finish that Varathane makes.

One serious caution: the system is not designed to be used on bare wood. In fact, the etching and primer will probably cause dark staining on bare wood. The final catalytic finish could be used on bare wood, but it is not yet available as a separate product.

The kit is called Varathane Renewal and a $100 kit will cover about 250 square feet.

 


Keywords: Sanding, Types, Floors, Finishes, Refinishing, Techniques

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