Flawless Parquet Floor Buffing & Re-coating

Parquets are a beautiful and elegant type of wood flooring with an aristocratic feeling to it since it was used most famously by the French nobility. Described this type of flooring is made of wooden pieces put together in a certain pattern to achieve a certain decorative effect. The most popular type of pattern is the so-called herringbone. Parquets are delicate and their restoration can be complex. This includes polishing such wooden planks, especially older ones.

Preparations Before Polishing Your Floor

Below we have listed some of the difficulties you can face when polishing a parquet floor. The most important part of applying floor polish is cleaning. However, if your parquet has been covered by a carpet it's not uncommon to find pieces of it still stuck on your floor. Using a chisel or screwdriver (with great care of course) you can remove those 'carpet grippers'.

Another problem could be the old wax layers. They appear when your parquet floor has been waxed too much in the past. There are products dedicated to the removal of those dark substances but they will have trouble with the older ones, which had years to settle down. In this case, 'white spirit' may be the best solution to dispose of them.

What has to be considered next is the dirt that has built up. Even when regularly cleaned, the grime can still plague your parquet. A few sweeps with a broom can help but if you include a powerful vacuum cleaning your floor will be better. After the worst of the dirt is gone, you can use soap and very small amounts of water to clean the rest or even better - to get a professional cleaning product.

What You Need to Consider When Polishing

It's always good to know what type of finish was used on your parquet in the first place. After all, when polishing you are not removing the old finish but preserving the already existing one. If you are not sure what product you used so many years ago, do not despair! In an area that doesn't stick out apply a drop or two of water. If within ten minutes you see the appearance of white spots under the water the finish used on the parquet is wax or oil. If no such thing appears, it is lacquer/varnish. Polishing products can be applied to any type of flooring - oil, wax or lacquer. The polish should be used with an applicator so it can spread out.

Specialised equipment can spread the polish more evenly, can make the floor absorb it better and makes it feel less slippery. After so much time and effort it is finally finished. But is it worth the trouble doing it by yourself? Maybe if you have uncountable spare time to learn a new skill. But if you need the help of a professional wood polishing company you may as well call 020 70360622.