How to Restore Wood Floors for $5
While Hubby was out of town hunting I had a brilliant idea to refinish the wood floors. Well my brilliant idea quickly got squashed when I found out how much it would be for just the clear coat finish. I was all ready to do them, I got up early, made sure I had my 40% off coupon for Sherwin Williams, and jumped in the car. Even with the coupon it was still way too much money
They asked me how many square feet I had to do, factored in two coats, and the grand total came to $600. What!!! I only paid $1,000 for the floors and I certainly wasn’t going to pay that much for a clear top coat that I had to do myself. So back to the drawing board….I headed over to a big box store and read everything on the shelf and ended up with a product called, Quick Shine. I was anxious to get home and see if it would make a difference. I knew it couldn’t make it look worse.
Our floors are 5 years old and have taken a beating, with kids and pets they don’t have a chance. The finish is wore down to nothing and is bare wood in several places. Hubby is going to cut oak and do new floors next year, he already has the trees marked to take down, but for right now I just want them to look better on a budget until that happens. No matter how many times I mopped them, they just looked dull, dirty, and horrible. But not now I was amazed how well Quick Shine actually worked and it’s easy to do.
Here’s what I did…. Vacuum the floors, then steam cleaned them, then applied the Quick Shine with a microfiber mop per the instructions on the back. I decided to do two coats thinking it may hold up longer. The product dries in 15 minutes so I took no time at all to apply both coats, and here’s the best part, I did it all for $5. That was $5 well spent.
Above is a picture of what not to do…..The dog decided to lay on the finish before it was dry and it acted like a bikini wax and pulled the hair right out of the dog. I couldn’t quit laughing, thankfully it is just loose hair and didn’t hurt the dog.
Here you can see some of the areas that are down to bare wood but I am so happy with the results and actually like my floors again. I’m anxious to hear if you have tried a similar product and have a favorite. I’m one that normally sticks with the same thing once I know it works but am open to anything new. Now the true test to see how long it lasts.
This post has been updated and you can read the updates here.
Morning Dawndie! Oh, your floors look great and thanks for sharing this! Our new/old house we’ve just bought has wood floors. This is my first time to have wood floors and they just look dull and are scratched a bit. I’ve steam mopped and used some other stuff, but nothing has made them look pretty. I’ll try this. The product doesn’t make them slick to walk on does it? Well, I thought I’d be so smart and cover up an area in my ‘one day sewing room’. I just sprayed a little furniture polish on the floor and it covered up the scratch. I thought I was a genius! Well I and almost caught my death by slipping and falling down! What a dummy I am!
Thanks again and I hope you’re doing well.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia 😉
Shelia, yes the floors are a little slippery but no more than if they just had poly on them, they just feel clean now. Mine used to feel sticky because they were down to bare wood. So sorry for your fall, how horrible. I hope you are ok 🙂
I don’t blame you for not paying that huge price … the quick fix worked great.
I agree Linda, I can live with this look for a while.
Dawn, they look fabulous! Too funny about the dog hair, though! You never cease to amaze me with your ingenuity! Great tutorial, too!
Thanks Aunt KO, they sure look better than they did, and it only took 4 hours of my time:)
Dawn they look FABULOUS!!!
Thanks Martina, yes they look better and feel cleaner now that they are slippery again.
Dawn,
They look awesome. What a great transformation for $5. You Rock with this great tip.
Kris
Kris, it was money well spent and only took 4 hours of my time. I will definitely keep using it.
Oh Dawn, you gave me my morning laugh! How funny about your dog!!!! On a serious note ( if I can recover) your floors look gorgeous!! I love the shine and the way the wear of years is hidden. Great job my friend. When I see your home I get weak in the knees! I can just imagine how cozy the holidays are going to be!!! xo
Glad you got a laugh Yvonne, me and my Son were rolling over it.
I might have to give that a try. Our wide plank pine floors are very worn (dogs and furniture and everything else!)
xo
Claudia
Claudia, yes pets and people sure are hard on pine floors.
I love a good quick fix, and your floors turned out great. We have a friend who mills wood flooring and the big leaf maple he has is soooo gorgeous, I want it so bad but it won’t fit in the budget right now, but one day…..
Sounds like your hubby has a plan to make you some really beautiful flooring. I got a good chuckle out of your dog getting hair stuck to the floor.
Pam I bet those Maple floors are beautiful. I would love to do a mix of hardwood, I love all the different colors and textures mixed together. LOL yes the dog was quite comical.
What perfect timing…I was just thinking yesterday that the hardwood floors had to be done.
Your wood floors turned out great. Thanks for the tip…I’ll be looking for that product.
Cheryl, while you’re at the store get the cleaning product that goes with it. I have since found that it works the best paired with the finish restorer.
That was a great fix, Dawn. So nice that it was easy to apply and I definitely like that price better too. Your floors look really nice!
JoAnne, yes the price was a winner to me. I can live with the a wile longer now.
I think they turned out great! I have never had hardwood before so need to learn how to care for it. No kids or pets in our empty nest, however (oh, the dog hair photo, lol!).
Barb they would be much easier to maintain with no pets, and no kids. We don’t take our shoes off here and mud and sand are tracked in every day. I vacuum daily, and have to mop too. It’s better than carpet to me though.
Your floors look great, Dawn, and thanks for sharing this product with us. We have pine floors as well, and we had them refinished 5 years ago before we moved into our home. We have the same problem as you: dog, cats, grandchildren, dirt from the yard, etc. so our floors are looking a little worn in some areas. Looking for a quick fix myself!
Jane, you will love this product give it a try. I also recommend getting the cleaner that goes along with it. I have since discovered that is needed and am planning an updated post about it.
Hi Dawn!
I don’t comment here much — but I do follow you on Instagram and via MHC 😉
Anyway saw this on IG this morning. I Have many of the same issues with my floors. They’re looking pretty rough! A quick budget friendly technique is just the ticket for me! I’m going to give it a try and let you know the results — I’ll definitely link back too!
Thing is when a product is good and it works — and then word gets around, well it won’t cost $5 anymore! Ha! I better hurry!
Patricia, I am loving this product. I have a new post up on this Friday with an update, stop back in for more tips I discovered.
hello – what if your wood fllors are or had been already varnished by a floor company yearsago- but the shine is getting dull and I do not want to strip anything or remove the varnish- I just want to make it shiner again??? any ideas??
Thank you for this post! I just moved into a new home and the previous owners had pets that had scratched up and dulled down the wood flooring. I followed your process, but before I applied the Quick Shine, I got the floors cleaned by a local carpet cleaning company and I think this really enhanced this results! I will be recommending this method to all my friends that have hardwood floors, thank you!!
Hi Dawn,
Thank you for all your tips! I really enjoy your website. How do you steam clean your floors? What type of machine do you use? Also, I read “Sara’s” post- she said she hired a carpet cleaning company to clean her floors- I wasn’t aware they could clean wood floors!? They can steam clean the wood? Thank you.