Question 1

How do I know if my hardwood floors need screen and recoat or full refinishing?

Accepted Answer

The simplest way to tell is to look at where the wear is happening. If your floors look dull, have light surface scratches, or have lost their sheen — but the wood itself looks fine — you're almost certainly looking at finish wear, not wood damage. That's exactly what screen and recoat hardwood floor service is designed to address.If you can see bare wood showing through, deep gouges, or the finish is peeling in places, that's when a full refinish becomes necessary. When we come out to assess your floors in Seminole County and Orange County, FL, we'll tell you plainly which service your floor actually needs — and why. We're not going to recommend a full refinish if a recoat will do the job.

Question 2

Can all hardwood floors be screened and recoated, or are there exceptions?

Accepted Answer

Not every floor qualifies, and this is important to understand before you book anyone. Two of the most common disqualifiers are floors that have been treated with wax-based products or oil soaps — like Murphy Oil Soap — over the years, and floors with aluminum oxide factory finishes, which are common on prefinished hardwood.Wax and oil-soap residue builds up in the finish and prevents a new topcoat from bonding correctly. Aluminum oxide coatings are extremely hard and require specialized bonding agents — standard screening alone won't create adequate adhesion. If either of these applies to your floor, additional prep work is needed before recoating can happen. We check for both during our assessment, so there are no surprises after the work starts.

Question 3

Will screen and recoat change the color or stain of my hardwood floors?

Accepted Answer

No — and this is one of the most common misconceptions we hear. Screen and recoat only addresses the finish layer, which sits on top of your stain and wood. We're scuffing and refreshing that clear protective topcoat, not touching anything beneath it.Your floor's color, tone, and character stay exactly as they are. If you want to change the stain color, that requires sanding down to bare wood — which is a full refinishing job, not a recoat. If you love how your floors look but just want that sheen and protection back, screen and recoat gives you exactly that without altering anything else.

Question 4

How long does screen and recoat take, and when can I use my floors again?

Accepted Answer

In most cases, the entire job is completed in a single day. That's one of the biggest advantages of hardwood floor buffing services over full refinishing, which typically takes two to three days and involves much more disruption.With a water-based finish — which we often recommend for homes in Seminole County and Orange County, FL given Central Florida's humidity levels — you can typically walk on the floors within a few hours of completion. Full cure, meaning when it's safe to move furniture back and return to normal use, usually takes about two to three days. We'll give you a specific timeline based on your floor and the finish we're using before we start.

Question 5

I've been using store-bought floor polish for years — does that affect whether I can get a recoat?

Accepted Answer

It can, and it's worth being upfront about this. Many floor polishes and cleaning products — including popular ones sold at hardware stores — contain wax or silicone compounds that gradually build up on the finish surface.Over time, that residue creates a barrier that prevents new polyurethane from bonding correctly. If you apply a new finish coat over contaminated floors without addressing the buildup first, you risk peeling and delamination down the road. This doesn't mean you can't get a recoat — it just means the prep work may need to go a step further. We'll identify this during our assessment and let you know what's needed before any finish goes down.

Question 6

How often should hardwood floors in Seminole County and Orange County, FL be screened and recoated?

Accepted Answer

The general industry recommendation is every three to five years, but in Central Florida, we lean toward the shorter end of that range for most households. The reason is the climate.The humidity swings between outdoor air — which can hit 70 to 90 percent relative humidity in summer — and the air-conditioned interiors most Seminole County and Orange County homeowners keep year-round create more finish stress than you'd see in drier regions. Add in the sandy grit that's common with Central Florida's soil composition, and your finish layer is working harder than it would almost anywhere else in the country.Households with pets, kids, or frequent foot traffic should lean toward the three-year end. A quick visual check — if the sheen is gone and light scratches are visible — is usually a reliable enough signal that it's time.

Your Floors Back to Life — Without the Big Project

Hardwood Floor Buffing Services in Seminole County and Orange County, FL

Screen and Recoat Cost in Seminole County and Orange County, FL

Floor Screening and Recoating Process in Seminole County and Orange County, FL

Quick Links

Contact Info