Screen and Recoat- what about old wax?

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newbieinnc

New Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2018
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1
Location
Huntersville, NC
I have a rental house that was built in the 1950s. A long-time tenant is moving out soon, and I'm going to remodel the house- paint cabinets, paint walls, new kitchen flooring, new bathroom fixtures, etc. The hardwoods in the living room, hall and bedrooms are pretty rough, so I need to do something with them. It's a rental, so they don't have to be perfect, so after some research, I figured I'd just screen and recoat them. I understand the process, and I think it'll be sufficient for the market I'm in...

Here's my question: Do I need to worry about there possibly being wax on the floors? I'm reading that you can't screen and recoat if there's wax on the floors (I'm guessing it clogs up the screen?) I have owned the house since 2004, and have never waxed the floors, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone else who lived in the house between 1955 and 2004 waxed them.

I had planned on cleaning the floors at the beginning of this process using TSP. Would that be enough to mitigate any possible wax application over the years? Honestly, the floors are so rough I'd be surprised if there was much of any coating on them at all...

Anyway, thanks for any thoughts you may be able to provide.
 
Once waxed, always waxed. Once a floor has a wax finish applied the wax gets between the boards and there is no way to remove it. It is a contamination as far as finish is concerned and will cause issues with finish coats.

As Ernesto suggested, try the water test in areas that are not as worn to get a good idea.

All that said, a waxed floor is more maintenance, but you will not find a more beautiful floor.
 

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