How To Tell If Floor Is Varnish Or Wax

Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

How to tell if floor is varnish or wax.

If you can feel the graininess and texture of the wood the floor probably has a coating of penetrating oil and perhaps wax. If the finish turns white wax coats the surface. You do not need a sander to remove an existing wax finish. The best candidate for waxing is a hardwood floor that was previously treated with a penetrating wood sealer lacquer varnish shellac or oil as wax can bolster the.

This time apply a small amount of denatured alcohol to the finish and do the same process. Varnish will react slowly but shellac will dissolve right away. If varnish coats the surface removal methods are the same as polyurethane removal which is using a paint and polyurethane remover. Some are more natural like wax.

Drip a drop or two of water on the surface. These are just a few of the qualities that make water based polyurethane one of the most popular hardwood floor finishes for the home. Test 2 is it shellac. If nothing happens move on to the next test.

A few other possibilities would be a varnish shellac although you rarely find floors refinished with shellac anymore or a thin wiping varnish commonly known as a danish oil. I m going to be discussing the best way to apply them the pros and cons and hopefully help you decide what one is right for your floor. If the finish dissolves congratulations you ve got a waxed floor. There are a few common solvents that you can apply to the existing finish to help determine its type but your first priority is to clean the test area thoroughly.

Others such as varnish begin with one. If the finish dissolves this time then you can be assured you have a shellac finish. What is the difference between varnish floor wax. If the floor has an existing wax finish there are a variety of chemical agents available to help strip the wax off the top of the surface.

Test for wax by rubbing an out of the way floorboard with the edge of a coin and looking for telltale wax buildup on the. If the finish comes off shellac coats the surface. Is it good on all floors. Never mix cleaning agents or chemicals the result can be dangerous or deadly.

Hi i m ben o reilly from wood finishes direct in this video i will be discussing floor finishes specifically water based polyurethane varnish and a hard wax oils. Never wax polyurethaned floors as that can dull the finish.