How to clean and repolish old parquet floor

[ed110220]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on how to restore an old parquet floor in my living and dining rooms. It is original to the house, from 1948/49 but I'm not sure what sort of wood it is.

The previous owners had it covered in carpet, which I have taken up. It's in OK condition for the age, a few dents and scratches but I don't mind as it's an old floor. There are a few paint spots and one or two blocks feel slightly loose which I can live with, but would probably be ripped up by a sander.

I would like to clean and repolish it but without going down the sanding down route if possible.

 

[ed110220]

Here's a photo, you can see it is quite dirty but otherwise seems OK. I'd like to keep that sort of colour if possible to fit the retro theme.

 

[WoodYouLike]

You could get away with restoring it without sanding, we've written a special guide about this

 

[ed110220]

Thanks very much, I sent for the guide.

In an older house I don't think a floor has to look new, plus I fear sanding would involve lifting the blocks and scraping all the bitumen off the back (one in a corner behind furniture was loose and I lifted it out and it was bitumen on the back).

 

[ed110220]

Thanks for the guide which I read. I'm still a bit confused about what sort of finish it has on it. I put a drop or two of water on it and it went darker rather than white.

Today I tried cleaning the little paint spots off with white spirit which seems to have worked and taken off a lot of grime too. When dry the wood is now lighter and dull dry looking so I'm guessing it needs some new wax, polish or lawyer but I'm not sure which.

 

[WoodYouLike]

You can apply a polish from the Saicos Wax-Car Spray, which is suitable for all finishes and won't harm you floor