How to Screen Floor?

I have a fir floor with some an area that has a milky haze. Is screening and re-applying polyurethane the way to go? If so, any suggestions on equipment needed and how to do it? The YouTube videos that I have seen involve using large machines. This is for a small area.

Thanks.

CLOUDY FINISH What it is: The finish appears cloudy or milky. Cause: • Applying finish over a coat that isn’t dry enough to be recoated yet. • Applying waterborne finish during very high relative humidity or over a floor that is too cold to be coated. • Applying an oil/solvent-based finish during very high relative humidity, causing condensation on the surface of the drying coating. This will leave a dull appearing finish once the finish is dry, often referred to as “blushing.” Cure: Abrade/screen and recoat, being sure to increase the dry time between coats. Check with a damp rag before abrading/reapplying finish to make sure the cloudiness has disappeared. If the finish appears clear when it is dampened with water or solvent, the problem can be fixed with an abrade/ screen and recoat (the cloudy/milky appearance will appear again when the spot dries). Be sure to do this when the application conditions are favorable. However, when the cloudy/whitish appearance does not disappear upon wetting the substrate, the problem is throughout the coating film and requires removal of the existing finish and application of a new finish to restore the appearance.

Rent the Rotary with a 80 grit screen ..

Many thanks. I appreciate the response. Very helpful. I should have mentioned that I am in Colorado (very dry), and that I used water-based polyurethane.

I need the machine for such a small area? I can't do that by hand?

Thanks.

Brother lives in Parker .. You want the big machine .. A belt sander is only going to put high and low spots in your floor ..

After you screen off the milk make sure there is no dust on the wood .. If the screen clogs up all you have to do is bang it against the sander to clear it ..

After first coat give it a quick screening to remove any bubbles , and give the second coat something to Adhere to.. Use the same side of the screen you sanded with ..you don't want to take a lot off .. I would 3 coat it .. One base , two top.. I would wait at least 24 hrs between coats just to be on the safe side ..

Thanks again.

TG, You want to get a acrylic pad to pull the finish in one direction so as not to create bubbles in the finish ..

I'm going to do the work today, but am not clear about abrade/screen. Does that mean just a light sanding, as opposed to going down to the wood? I have a rotary sander with 80 grit pads.

You want to sand down to where you remove the finish.. Hit it with a 80 grit screen, then a 100.. sand in the direction of the length of the boards ..
Don't apply pressure , allow the machine to do the work ..

I appreciate the advice!

YW. Don't forget to give the first coat with a light screening using the same side you used with the 100 grit to remove any little bubbles .. no screening of the second coat needed .. The more you use the screen , The better they work removing scratches .. You can use both sides of the screen , and they don't go bad , So hold onto them ..

Good Luck ..

It came out pretty well - I appreciate the good advice. I have one small section with a problem. I have tried re-sanding it, staining again, coating it, but those two areas are lighter than the rest of the board. (I should have cleaned it up before taking the photo).

Any suggestions? Thanks.

Looks like the whole board is a different color .. Get them in prefinish that look like that .. Do you have any extra wood ?

I did a poor job of describing the problem. It's a 100 year-old fir floor. Many of the boards are different colors. That's just the way they are.

In this one board I have two small circular areas (maybe 2 1/2" in diameter) that are a different color than the rest of the board.

I have tried lightly sanding and re-staining it, but nothing works. Do I need to get those two small areas down to bare wood, and then stain?

The overall floor looks like this:

Yes , Use a little rougher paper .. let the stain soak in , then wipe .. likely hit with the fine paper , and coat ..
Hope this works for you .. Sometimes it is just in the board and nothing you can do about it ..
Photo looks like you haven't pulled any coats yet , If not post back with the finish you are using ..

That photo was taken before I re-sanded. I might have to apply 2 coats of stain.

Thanks again!