Polishing hardwood floors vs. refinishing

It’s important to know the difference between polishing and refinishing a hardwood floor. The tasks are similar, but when you polish a wood floor, you’re keeping the finish intact. You're simply restoring its existing finish, filling in the micro scratches, and evening out its general appearance. When you refinish a wood floor, you're completely removing the floor’s existing finish and replacing it.

You’ll know it’s time to refinish hardwood floors when polishing them no longer delivers the same ability to make your wood floors shine and look beautiful, despite following best practices. That said, if you take good care of your hardwood floors, they shouldn’t need to be refinished more than every 7-10 years. A wood floor can typically be refinished about 4-6 times throughout its life.

Advanced tips for polishing hardwood floors

1. Use Bona Hardwood Floor Polish to add a new protective layer, fill in micro scratches, and even out the appearance of your floor.
2. Always test polish in an inconspicuous section before spreading it over the entire floor.
3. When applying floor polish to your floor, use the “feathering” technique to ensure a smooth finish without lines or 'stop-and-start' marks.
4. Only use matt floor polish on an extra-matt floor to maintain a natural appearance. Test it in an inconspicuous area to see the gloss level before applying to the entire floor.
5. Do not use floor polish on an oiled floor.

How often should I clean and polish my hardwood floor?

Clean your hardwood floors as often as possible to minimize the amount of dirt and dust. Dirt particles can act like sandpaper, and will wear floors down over time. Bona recommends implementing a “daily, weekly, monthly/bi-monthly” cleaning routine.

When it comes to polishing hardwood floors, Bona’s specially-formulated hardwood floor polish can be used several times a year. How often you use it will depend entirely on the amount of traffic your floor sees, but on average,  homeowners polish their wood floors every two to four months.

How long does it take to clean and polish hardwood floors?

When you use Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner and Bona Hardwood Floor Polish, it’s generally a very quick and easy process. That said, it depends on the area of your wood flooring.

Bona Floor Polish provides a protective layer and evens out the sheen. Polishing is a very simple process, and no special equipment is needed. Once you’ve done your prep work,  you can simply squirt Bona Floor Polish directly onto the floor, then spread it evenly with an applicator and let it dry. Give it an hour before you walk on it, and 24 hours before allowing heavy traffic to resume.

Prepping hardwood floors for polishing

1. Remove all furniture and other belongings from the room. Clear the area. Be careful when moving large objects and furniture. If possible, use furniture pads to help protect the floor from accidental scratches and gouges.
2. Give the floor a good cleaning by dusting mopping. Make sure the floor is completely dry before applying the floor polish.
3. Make sure you have all the right tools. Floor polish can be applied with an applicator pad or a high-density foam roller. Check the polish instructions to make sure that you have everything you need to do the job.

Applying hardwood floor polish to shine the floor

1. Keep it small. When applying the floor polish to your hardwood floor, work in small sections to keep the applicator pad/roller wet. Be sure to smooth out the polish along the grain of the wood. 
2. Use a feathering technique. To avoid stripes of uneven floor polish on your floor, take a cue from interior painting and feather out the polish, so that you have smooth transitions as you move from section to section.
3. Plan your exit. Don’t paint yourself in a corner! Plan how you’re going to divide up the floor in advance. If possible, have a helper apply floor polish along the perimeter of the room while you follow close behind.

Do I choose high or low gloss when polishing hardwood floors?

Personal preference plays an important role in making sure you have the right look to your floors. When it comes to selecting your wood floor polish, the level of sheen affects the overall feel of your space. The sheen level of a floor polish will tell you how much light is reflected off your floors. A high gloss floor polish will make your floors reflect a lot of light, versus a subtle low gloss floor polish. Again, there is no right or wrong here. Just remember that any dirt, dust or imperfections in the wood will be seen more easily with high gloss floor polish.

After you’ve polished the hardwood floors

Once you’re finished polishing, allow at least one hour for the floor polish to dry before you walk on the floor. The floor polish should dry completely after 24 hours, making it ready for heavy traffic.

Again, polishing hardwood floors is recommended every few months, but this will vary, depending on how much foot traffic the floor experiences.

Hardwood floors aside, Bona offers floor polish and tools for stone, tile and laminate floors as well. Hardwood furniture polish is also available to keep your rooms looking beautiful. Take a look at our selection of polishes to find the right product for you.

Cloudy hardwood floors after polishing

The last thing you want after polishing, is a cloudy, streaky hardwood floor. To help avoid this, consider the potential causes so that you can prepare yourself for a job well done:

• Thin application of floor polish (not enough polish used)
• Using an expired bottle of floor polish
• Did not start the job with a clean floor and/or floor polish applicator
• Polish was used with non-compatible product

Starting with a clean floor is vital for polishing your floors. After giving your floors a good deep clean, test a small area of your floor with polish to make sure you like the results. Again, calculating the square footage of your floor will help you figure out how much floor polish you need and can help guide your application process.