How to polish wood floors
Get our expert tips and tricks on polishing your wood floors with Bona Polish.
How to polish wood floors
Get our expert tips and tricks on polishing your wood floors with Bona Polish.
Polishing wood floors helps restore a floor's protective layer of finish, add sheen and help fill in micro-scratches to make them less noticeable. It's a simple DIY project that can be done without any special equipment. However, without proper preparation and technique, even the “simple” job of polishing your floor can lead to unintended results if you’re not prepared. Learn some simple do’s and don’ts when polishing hardwood floors.
Tips & tricks
When it comes to polishing wood floors, it’s best to approach the job with a gentle hand. There’s no need to aggressively work the polish into your floors. Instead, let the polish do the work!
- Clear the room by removing furniture and anything else on the floor to prepare.
- Measure your room and know your square footage. One 32 oz bottle of Polish covers 500 sq. ft. You will use one full bottle of Polish for every 500 sq ft.
- Vacuum or dry dust your floor with a Bona Microfiber Dusting Pad to make sure dust and dirt is removed from your floor.
- Clean floors with the all-in-one Bona Premium Spray Mop for Wood Floors to remove any scuffs or spills and assure your floor is squeaky clean.
- Gently rock polish back and forth for 30 seconds to one minute to assure a consistent sheen level. Do not shake!
- Spread an even and consistent layer of polish across the floor using a Bona Microfiber Applicator Pad. Let the applicator pad do the work—just guide the puddle of polish back and forth with the wood grain. Use only fingertip pressure on your mop.
- Work in small sections on the floor, making sure you don’t trap yourself in a corner!
- Use polish every 2-4 months, or longer depending on the traffic in your home.
Do's
Proper preparation is key. Having a clean, dry floor is important to get the desired results. Plan with the right tools and correct amount of polish for a hassle-free work session.
- Test polish in a small area to make sure you are happy with the appearance.
- Measure accurately by calculating the square footage of the room to assure you have enough bottles of Polish for one application. To find the square footage, simply multiply the length by the width of the room. One bottle of the 32oz. Polish only covers 500 sq. ft., whereas the 24oz. Polish only covers 350 sq. ft.
- Make sure your floor is clean and residue-free.
- Use the proper recommended application tools for best results.
- Apply polish with the grain of the wood.
- Test polish in a small area to make sure you are happy with the appearance.
- Pour polish directly on the floor in an S pattern. Dampen the microfiber pad with polish to start.
Don'ts
A cloudy, milky looking floor can come from improper handling of the polish. For best results, keep water away from the polish solution and avoid contaminating the polish by transferring it into another container.
- Don’t pour polish into a spray mop or spray bottle.
- Don’t pour polish into a bucket.
- Don’t use polish with a sponge, string or wring mop.
- Don’t dampen applicator pad with water.
- Don’t rinse and wring the applicator pad while applying polish to the floor.
- Don’t apply polish with a scrubbing or cleaning action to the floor—it doesn’t need to be rubbed in.
- Don’t apply polish too thin – it needs to be a nice even layer applied at the correct application rate.
- Polish should be used within 1 year of opening the bottle, and has a shelf life of 1-2 years unopened.
Finishing the job
Polish can be walked on with SOCKS on your feet after 1-2 hours. Allow 24 hours before resuming normal traffic, returning furniture and rugs, and allowing pets back to the floor. If desired, wait a full 24 hours before applying a second coat.
Try out the Bona Stone, Tile & Laminate Polish for your other hard-surface floors, like laminate, vinyl linoleum, unglazed tile (ceramic, quarry), stone and sealed marble.
Related products
Bona® Hardwood Floor Polish – High Gloss
Bona® Hardwood Floor Polish – Low Gloss
Bona® Stone, Tile & Laminate Polish