Summer is a good time to ask ‘how to revive sun faded wood floors’, prolonged exposure can damage and bleach your hardwood floors.
Although it’s the only downside to warmer weather, prolonged exposure can damage and bleach your hardwood floors. This then leads to sun faded wood floors.
But the good news is, there are several things we can do to restore sun faded wood floors to their former glory.
Our five-step sanding process lasts up to fifteen years, but if you decide you’d like to turn your hand to wood floor restoration, we’d suggest you follow these steps:
Revive Your Sun Faded Wood Floors: Step 1
Inspect the area.
In theory, you could revive the sun faded sections of the floor, but it’s best to do the entire room if you’re after an even finish.
You can also use it as an opportunity to repair scratches.
Some woods are notoriously difficult to sand and stain, so depending on the type of wood you’re dealing with and how faded your hardwood floors are, it is worth getting a professional to do it for you, like Sussex Floor Restoration.
Step 2
You’ll need to invest in the following materials before you start:
- Fine-grit sandpaper blocks
- Medium-grit sandpaper blocks
- Wood stain
- Sealant
- Paintbrushes
- Clean rags
- Goggles
- Dust mask
- Gloves
Revive Your Sun Faded Wood Floors: Step 3
Empty the room out completely and clean all excess dust including corners and skirtings.
When we fill our floors, we mix the dust we saved from the initial sanding with a filler specifically designed for sanding wood floors, to create a more uniform look.
For DIY-ers, we’d suggest filling all gouges with wood filler, ensuring you leave the gaps in between the wood to allow for natural expansion.
Step 4
Our sanding process – using extraction technology – is completely dust-free, but if you’re sanding your floors yourself you must cover doorways and vents and ensure you wear your protective gear.
Sand the area until the stains are removed. Depending on the condition of your floor, you’ll most likely start with a 60-grit sandpaper and move down to a 120-grit as it starts to even out.
Ensure you clean all the dust before moving onto the next stage.
After sanding, the wood becomes quite tight which can make it difficult to stain straight away, so we spray our floors with water to reverse the constricting process.
Revive Your Sun Faded Wood Floors: Step 5
The coatings we use are both eco-friendly and very low in VOC’s.
Before you start the staining process, ensure that the room is well ventilated. If you’re just working on a small area of the room, matching the stain colour can be challenging, so you may need to try a few stain colours to find the perfect match.
Apply the wood stain with a clean cloth, rubbing it firmly into the newly sanded floor and let it dry overnight.
Step 6
Seal your floor with a good quality wood floor sealant. We’d suggest using a water-based urethane and applying it with a paintbrush.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and once it’s dry give the floor a very light sand and apply a second coat of sealant.
Give it 24 hours to dry and 48 hours before you move furniture and rugs back in the room. Once the floor is completely covered, we use a rotary machine to remove excess product.
If you decide to let a professional work on your floors (Sussex Floor Restoration), when we’ve finished up and you are marvelling at your newly refurbished floors, we’ll provide you with comprehensive care guide from on how to prevent further sun damage and reduce UV rays.
Choose Sussex Floor Restoration
If you have any questions, then please give a member of our friendly team a call on 01444 810505, or fill out our contact form here, and they would be happy to advise you on the next steps.
