Q: How do I change from a clear gloss finish to a semi-gloss finish on hardwood flooring? How do I go about changing finish?
A: Very straight forward. Prepare the existing coating to receive the shine level of choice, in this case semi-gloss. This means you have to buff/sand or abrade the coating which creates (hopefully) tiny scratches which the next coating grabs or adheres to. In doing this buffing the finish will to a large degree be de-glossed. The purpose of the buffing is to create a mechanical bond.
Related Q: If a professional used a glossy poly and I wanted satin, can he come back with a satin and NOT sand the glossy off?
A: No, the finish has to be de-glossed, either by abrading with a polisher and abrasive pad or a chemical preparation.
Similar Q: We have hardwood in our family room and just added the same wood to our master bedroom. Our home is 10 years old, so the wood in the family room was in bad shape (had four large dogs during the first nine years). Anyhow, we had some repairs done to the family room and then they sanded the old/new and then stained the entire floor. We came home today and the family room doesn’t have the same type of shine as the master which has a high gloss finish. I noticed the cans of semi gloss and satin finish in the garage. To correct the finish in the family room would they need to just add a high gloss finish so its the same finish in the master? Would they need to re-sand before adding a high gloss?
A: It is just a matter of screening the coat of finish with an appropriate grit (not too course or risk of swirls exists). Basically this scratches the finish so another coat can have something to grab on to. Clean up well and apply hi gloss.
Similar Q: We put some new pine floors down. They have been coated 3 times with Minwax Satin Polyurethane. My wife would prefer a matte finish. Is there any way to dull the finish without having to recoat it?
A: You will need to lightly sand or buff the finish and apply the matte finish.
Similar Q: I’m having my floor stained and refinished. We are now at the finishing stage, they are applying 3 coats of poly. I request a semi-gloss finish. However, they are applying the first 2 coats with satin poly, and stated the last coat will be semi-gloss. I’m concerned if this is proper procedure.
A: There will be no issue with this. Satin is slightly less hard of a finish and a bit duller as to shine. The level of shine itself is irrelevant as they have to buff between coats anyway.