Timber Floor Restoration is a crucial step in the lifecycle of your timber flooring, helping to keep it looking beautiful and providing durability. While you can do some reviving with basic cleaning methods, the best way to restore your timber floors is to use a sanding and polishing process. This involves a few key steps that work together to achieve a lustrous, polished finish that will last for years.
The type of finish you choose for your Timber Floor Restoration Malaysia will have a huge impact on its durability and appearance, so it’s important to consult with a flooring professional about which option is best for your floor. Popular surface finishes include polyurethane, varnish, and hard wax oils. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, oil-based polyurethane offers a warmer, amber hue and is more durable, while water-based polyurethane dries faster but may not be as resilient. Penetrating finishes, such as linseed and tung oil, soak into the wood to enhance its grain and offer a natural look, but they require more frequent reapplications and can be difficult to repair.
A good way to test the integrity of your timber flooring is to sprinkle a few drops of water onto it. If the water beads up, it’s likely that your flooring is in decent shape and only needs a light sand and recoating. If it soaks in or darkens, the timber underneath is deteriorating and will need to be sanded back and fully re-coated.
Sanding is the most effective way to restore your timber floors, but it’s also a more time-consuming and messy process. Using a floor sander and coarse-grade sandpaper, a technician strips away the top layer of the floor, eliminating scratches, indentations, and old finishes and exposing the fresh, undamaged timber beneath. For hard-to-reach areas and edges that the main floor sander can’t reach, a specialized tool known as an edge floor sander is used. Finally, a fine-grade sandpaper is used to buff the bare timber and smooth any areas where floor filler has been applied.
Once the sanding and recoating processes are complete, it’s time to polish your timber floors. This step is vital to ensuring that your new coat of polish or recoat of polyurethane adheres properly and creates a smooth, high-quality finish. Polishing closes the pores of the wood and helps to prevent moisture from damaging it, so it’s an important part of the floor-restoration process.
After polishing, your timber floors will need to dry for a day or two. During this time, it’s a good idea to move all furniture and clear out any dust or debris that might have settled on the floorboards. When the floors are ready, you can apply a final protective sealant to your chosen finish. Choose a product compatible with your floor’s finish and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure even coverage. To protect your investment and preserve the beauty of your timber floors, resurface them every 5 to 10 years.