Hardwood Floor Cleaning and Recoating in Orlando & Winter Park.
Over time, hardwood floors can begin to show light wear from daily traffic, pets, and normal use. When the wood itself is still in good condition, cleaning and recoating can refresh the appearance of the floor without sanding the entire surface again.
Our professional cleaning and recoating process restores the appearance of the floor, often bringing back the clean, even look it had when it was first finished. A new coat of finish can hide many light scratches from daily wear and pets while adding fresh protection that helps extend the life of the floor.
Family-owned. 35+ years of hardwood floor experience. No subcontractors.
We provide hardwood floor cleaning and recoating throughout Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, College Park, and surrounding areas.
What Is Hardwood Floor Cleaning and Recoating?
Hardwood floor cleaning and recoating is a maintenance process used when the finish is beginning to show light wear but the wood underneath is still in good condition. The process is sometimes called a screen and recoat or buff and recoat.
Instead of sanding the floor down to bare wood, the floor is thoroughly cleaned and prepared so a new protective coat of finish can be applied. This restores protection to the surface and can significantly improve the appearance of the floor.
In many cases, recoating can extend the life of hardwood floors for years before full hardwood floor refinishing becomes necessary.
If you’re deciding between recoating and full sanding, timing can also play a role. If you’re planning around a move, you may want to read whether it’s better to refinish floors before moving in.
Can All Hardwood Floors Be Recoated?
Not every hardwood floor is a good candidate for recoating.
Recoating works best when the finish is showing light wear but has not worn completely through to bare wood in many areas. Floors with deeper damage, failing coatings, or contamination from household cleaners and polishes may require a different approach.
During an in-home evaluation, we can determine whether a floor is a good candidate for recoating or if full hardwood floor refinishing would be the better long-term option. If you’re unsure whether your floors can be sanded at all, our guide on whether your hardwood floors can be refinished explains how we evaluate that.
For homeowners comparing options, we explain typical project ranges in our guide to hardwood floor refinishing cost in Orlando.
Why Cleaning Matters Before Recoating
Many household cleaning products leave residues on hardwood floors that can prevent a new coat of finish from bonding properly.
Products such as Murphy’s Oil Soap, Bona Polish, Rejuvenate, and similar floor polishes can leave waxes or acrylic coatings on the surface of the floor. When a new finish is applied over these residues, adhesion problems can occur and the finish may peel or flake over time.
Because of this, removing these contaminants is one of the most important steps before applying a new coat of finish.
Before recoating, the floor must be thoroughly cleaned to remove waxes, acrylic polishes, grease, and embedded dirt that build up over time. Proper cleaning ensures the bonding agent and new finish coat can adhere correctly to the existing finish.
Our Hardwood Floor Cleaning and Recoating Process
Recoating hardwood floors today requires more than lightly buffing the surface and applying finish. Floors often contain residues from household cleaners, waxes, and acrylic floor polishes that can prevent new finish from bonding properly.
Our process focuses on thorough cleaning and careful preparation so the new finish adheres reliably and restores the clean, even appearance of the floor.
Removing Polishes and Residues
The first step is removing residues left behind by household floor polishes and cleaners. Products such as Murphy’s Oil Soap, acrylic floor polishes, and similar coatings can interfere with finish adhesion if they are not fully removed.
Machine Floor Cleaning
A professional floor scrubber applies cleaning solution, agitates the surface, and vacuums the floor dry. This allows the cleaning products to work through the existing finish while removing contaminants from the floor.
Multi-Stage Cleaning
The floor is cleaned multiple times using different cleaners designed to break down waxes, acrylic coatings, grease, and embedded dirt. Each step removes a different type of contamination that could affect adhesion.
Bonding Agent and New Finish Coat
Once the floor is fully cleaned, a bonding agent designed for the finish system is applied. After it dries, a new coat of hardwood floor finish is applied, restoring the clean appearance of the floor and renewing surface protection.
What Recoating Can Improve
Recoating can significantly improve the appearance of hardwood floors that have light surface wear from everyday use and pets.
A new coat of finish often hides many of the fine scratches that develop over time. While recoating does not remove dents or deeper damage in the wood itself, those marks often become much less noticeable once the floor has a fresh, even finish.
Lower sheen finishes such as matte or extra matte can also make small dents and scratches less visible. On higher sheen floors, light reflects more strongly across the surface, which can highlight small imperfections.
Cleaning and recoating is typically around a third of the cost of full refinishing and is priced based on square footage and the condition of the floor.
Will recoating remove scratches from hardwood floors?
Recoating can hide most light surface scratches that develop from daily traffic and pets. A new coat of finish restores the even appearance of the floor and often makes small scratches much less visible. Deeper scratches or dents in the wood itself may still be visible.
Can all hardwood floors be recoated?
Not every floor is a good candidate for recoating. Floors where the finish has worn through to bare wood in many areas, or floors with deeper damage, may require full refinishing instead.
How long does hardwood floor recoating take?
Most recoating projects can be completed in a day depending on the size of the home and the condition of the floors.
How long before the floors can be used again?
Floors can usually be walked on carefully the next day, though rugs and heavy furniture should wait until the finish has fully cured.
You can find detailed answers to these and other questions on our Hardwood Floor Refinishing FAQ page.
What Homeowners Say About Us
Read all 45 reviews →Request a Hardwood Floor Cleaning and Recoating Consultation
If you’re considering cleaning and recoating your hardwood floors, a professional evaluation is the best place to start. We’ll assess the condition of your floors and determine whether recoating or full refinishing is the better long-term solution.
Call or text 407-346-8653
You can also text a few photos and a quick note about what you are looking to have done.
We provide hardwood floor refinishing and recoating throughout Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, College Park Windermere, Dr. Phillips, Winter Garden, Ocoee, and surrounding areas.