Maintenance of lacquered wooden floors
A wooden floor with a lacquered finish is an excellent choice for residential properties - it is not only beautiful and a treat to use and walk on, with the right care and maintenance it will last for generations. One of its many good qualities is that a lacquered wooden floor is easy to maintain. It is relatively easy to keep your solid wood floor looking beautiful for many years if you employ the correct maintenance regime.
How to care for your lacquered wooden floor:
Recommended products for maintaining your lacquered floor
A simple and easy way to care for your lacquered wood floor
Does your floor have a dull looking surface and/or minor scratches, you can maintain and protect the floor with Junckers Refresher.
Our Refresher is a simple way for you to revive the surface and is easily applied with a flat mop. No professionals needed.
When a lacquered wooden floor needs professional maintenance by sanding and refinishing
How often your wooden floor needs a refresh will depend on the wear and tear it is exposed to. It can, among other things, depend on how many of you live in the home, whether there are pets, etc.
If you notice slight wear and scratches on the surface of your floor, without any wear-through of the lacquer finish, then it is time to give your lacquered wooden floor some care and attention by giving it a light sanding and refinishing with one of Junckers water-based lacquers.
We recommend that a light sanding and refinishing is carried out by professionals.
INDOOR CLIMATE
Junckers HP Commercial carries the indoor climate label.
An indoor climate labelled product has undergone extensive testing for degassing and odour, ensuring there are no chemicals in the lacquers which negatively affect the air quality in your home.
Guide: How to maintain your lacquered wooden floor by applying Junckers Refresher
We recommend that you use Junckers SylvaNeutralizer, which is used for cleaning soap residues. The lacquered surface must be clean, dry, free from dust, grease, and soap residues before applying Junckers Refresher.
Oiled, waxed, or polished floors are not suited for treatment with Refresher.
What you need before you start:
- Junckers SylvaNeutralizer
- Clean water
- Cleaning mop
- Bucket
- Flat thick-piled microfiber floor mop
- Junckers Refresher
1 | Cleaning with Junckers SylvaNeutralizer
To dissolve old soap residues, start by cleaning the floor with SylvaNeutralizer (Mixing ratio: 200ml to 10 liters of water / 3 oz to 1 gallon.)
Then leave the floor to dry.
2 | Apply Refresher
Wet a a flat thick-piled microfiber floormop in warm water and wring out the mop hard.
Mount the mop to the mop base and spray a thin S-shaped line of Refresher directly onto the floor. Use the mop to spread the Refresher and make sure to work in the longitudinal direction of the floorboards.
Apply in an even layer and work in small sections of 3-4 m².
Remember to keep overlaps between the individual sections moist.
Always apply Refresher on the entire floor area to ensure a uniform appearance and gloss level.
3 | Let the floor dry
Leave the floor to dry for 1-2 hours before walking on the floor.
If the floor is very worn, re-treatment can be conducted after 3 hours.
Wait 24 hours to place furniture and lay out rugs.
Watch our how-to-refresh video
Guide: How to maintain your lacquered wooden floor by light sanding and refinishing
We recommend that you use Junckers SylvaNeutralizer, which is used for cleaning soap residues. Subsequently, your wooden floor must have a light intermediate sanding and be finished with one of Junckers topcoats such as Junckers HP Commercial.
We recommend that a light sanding and refinishing is carried out by professionals.
What you need before you start:
- Junckers SylvaNeutralizer
- Hard-wrung cloth or mop
- Sandpaper grain 150-180
- Junckers HP Commercial
- Brush, paint roller or airless spray
1 | Cleaning with Junckers SylvaNeutralizer
To dissolve old soap residues, start by cleaning the floor with SylvaNeutralizer (Mixing ratio: 200ml to 10 liters of water / 3 oz to 1 gallon.)
2 | Sand the floor
Then sand the floor carefully with sandpaper grain 150-180. Cleaning and sanding the floor is crucial to the adhesiveness of the varnish.
3 | Remove sanding dust and clean the surface
Remove sanding dust by vacuuming and then wiping with a well-wrung, clean cloth or mop. Then the floor is ready to be surface treated with a layer of topcoat.
4 | Apply one of Junckers' topcoats
Choose one of Junckers' water-based topcoats that matches the wear to which the floor is exposed.
Then apply one layer of topcoat and let the varnish dry for approx. four hours. The varnish is fully cured after three days.
Before varnishing the entire floor, it is recommended to perform an adhesion test on a small area.
Daily cleaning of your wooden floor
Cleaning your wooden floor is quick and straight-forward. To keep your floor looking its best, regular cleaning is an important consideration. With the right care and cleaning routine, a wooden floor can last for generations - it pays off to care for your investment.
Lacquering your wooden floor
If the varnish has worn off your wooden floor, it requires sanding and refinishing with one of Junckers' floor lacquers.
Frequently asked questions and tips for a lacquered wooden floor
Avoid scratches in your wooden floor - use felt pads add
One of the most important things you can do to keep your floor looking great is to protect it. Using cushioned felt pads under your furniture will prevent marks, scratches or wear and tear. A chair, for example, will inevitably leave marks and scratchs over time if it is pulled in and out of a table. The scratches may eventually wear through the protective coats of lacquer or oil leaving the bare wood exposed to damage. Adding cushioned felt pads to the bottom of furniture legs and bases is one of the easiest things you can do to prevent this for happening.
Use doormats and small rugs add
One of the areas where your wooden floor is most exposed to wear and tear is by doors to the outside. Adding a doormat as you enter, be it an entrance hall or garden room, is a very effective way of protecting the floor against small stone, grit, dirt and moisture.
You can also minimise daily wear and tear of your floor under the dining table where chairs are pulled in an out as you sit down or get up by placing a rug under your table.
Can I sand my floor? add
The answer will depend on how many times your floor has been sanded before and on the thickness of your floorboards. A solid wood floor is able to handle more sandings than a laminated wood floor.
For example, Junckers' solid wood floors can be sanded back to bare wood as follows:
14 mm wooden floors - 5 times
15 mm wooden floors - 6 times
20.5 mm wooden floors - 8-10 times
22 mm wooden floors - 8-10 times
If you are in doubt about which floor you have or whether your floor can be sanded, we advise contacting a professional floor sander.
Can I sand or plane my wooden floor myself? add
More and more people are choosing to sand their wooden floor themselves, but if in doubt, always consider contacting a professional craftsman for the task.
If you are considering having your floor planed, we highly recommend contacting a flooring professional.
How long is the lifespan of a wooden floor? add
The lifespan of a wood floor depends on how you treat it. If you take good care of your floor with regular cleaning and maintenenace, the wood itself will not become worn, just the surface treatment i.e. the oil or lacquer finish.
If treated with care, a wooden floor will last for generations. Treating your floor with Junckers' Refresher or Rustic Oil at regular intervals will make sure you are able to enjoy your floor for many decades.
Some areas of the home may see more use and traffic and will therefore require more maintenance. Wooden floors in entrance halls and kitchens will typically show more wear than the floor in a living room or bedroom. If there are pets and children in the home, the floor may also see a little more wear.
To ensure the life of your floor is as long as possible, it is important to make sure it is not exposed to excessive water or unnaturally high humidity.