How to recoat an old wood floor without sanding

Watch the video above to get the details about Mapei’s Dust-Free Wood Floor Recoat System.

MAPEI UltraCoat ReNewIt System is a no-sand recoat system that allows you to recoat an old wood floor without sanding. It can be applied to an existing prefinished floor or site-finished job without creating dust in the home.

The ReNewIt System uses all water-based products and is fast-drying. Depending on how large the space is, you can recoat your hardwood floor in one day. For this system, you will need a buffer, microfiber mop, and T-bar applicator or roller.

When planning to recoat your wood floor, it’s important to consider the damage the floor has weathered over the years. Get an overview of what to look for and how to prep your floor for a recoat on Hardwood Floors Magazine.

Step 1 of Mapei Ultracoat ReNewIt System: Remover

You start out the MAPEI UltraCoat ReNewIt System with the ReNewIt Remover. The remover takes off old maintenance products that the customer has used in the past on the hardwood floor. It’s designed to take off acrylic wax, Mop N Glow or any kind of polish that may have been put down. It’ll also help get up grease and residue in the kitchen as well.

Apply the Ultracoat ReNewIt Remover to the wood floor and then agitate it with a buffer (either a red, a white or green pad). Once you have that area buffed, you will clean off that area before you move to the next section.

Generally, you’re going to do a three or four-foot section down the length of the room and work your way across the room. Once you’ve done that, you’ll move on to the cleaner.

Step 2: Cleaner

The ReNewIt Cleaner is going to help get the residue of the remover off and give us a nice fresh, clean-looking appearance to the hardwood floor. This is going to be applied with a microfiber mop. The cleaner dries within 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 3: Primer

Then you’ll be able to move right next to the ReNewIt Primer, which is step three of the MAPEI UltraCoat ReNewIt System. This primer is a two-component product. You’ll add the hardener into this and shake it vigorously. Then you’ll open up the lid, and allow that to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before you apply it.

You’ll have about an hour to an hour and a half to apply the primer. The primer is applied very thin with a microfiber mop.

With each one of these products, you’re going to get about 1,000 square feet of coverage.

Once you’ve applied the primer super thin with no heavy spots, no drips, or no runs, it will dry in about an hour. Then you’ll apply the High Traffic product.

Step 4 of the ReNewIt System: Finish

Finish off the ReNewIt System with one or two coats of High Traffic.

You’ll often have two different kinds of customers. You’re going to have a customer who’s fixing up the home to sell. For this scenario, you’d do a one coat system to give a nice even shine and a new look to the floor.

You may also have the customer who is moving into the house and wants a lot of protection. You would do a two coat system for that customer.

The High Traffic is a two-component finish. You’ll add the crosslink hardener into the product, shake it vigorously, let it set again for 5-10 minutes. Then this is going to be applied with like a T-bar applicator or a roller. You’re going to get 500 square feet per gallon on the finish.

What if there are marks on the floor?

One of the things that you get into with an older floor is that it’s going to have some “character” to it. It could be some scratches or wear marks.

To hide these, you can use art markers or Sharpies to get the right color. You’ll do this step after you’ve done the remover and the cleaner. Then you’ll fix the marks, and put the primer and the finish over the color.

Our MAPEI rep Tim recommends using Prisma color markers from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s, found in the art department. You can touch up scratches, dents, and dings – any place where there’s color loss. See our video tutorials on how to fix scratches on our website here.