Troubleshooting Oil Finished Floors

The heavily trafficked areas in your home like the kitchen, entrance, or hallway may be the first to show signs of wear and in need of maintenance. The signs are the floor looking dry, thirsty, stain easily and difficult to clean.

Luckily, a WOCA Oiled floor doesn’t have to go through a whole home sand and refinish, you can re-oil only the parts of the floor that need it and it should blend nicely.

We highly recommend using a floor machine when applying oil, but if you have an area of less than 400 square feet, you can polish the oil in by hand with a white 3M pad.

Step 1 Clean the area to be re-oiled with WOCA Intensive Wood Cleaner and let dry completely.

Step 2 Polish in a single coat of the WOCA Oil of your choice with a floor machine and a white pad and then towel buff off the excess. Depending on which WOCA Oil you use, please note the product cure time.

Step 3 After the treated area is fully cured, damp mop with WOCA Natural Soap.

Life happens and so do scratches from pets nails, shoes, furniture, etc. Don’t break out the sandpaper just yet! Mild to moderate scratches that happen can be touched up and minimized with WOCA products.

 

With the grain scratches

Option 1- Cleaning with WOCA Natural Soap every other week. Natural Soap is a conditioning cleaner with plant fats. With regular cleaning, the fats in this soap will settle in the minor scratches and reduce the visibility of the scratch over time.

Option 2- Polish in a small amount of WOCA Oil (your choice) and wipe off the excess. Depending on which WOCA Oil you use to repair the scratch, please note the product cure time.  

 

Across or against the grain scratches

These kinds of scratches are difficult to minimize even when sanded, but trying above option 1 and/or 2 is worth a try.

If you sand a scratch, use 100-150 grit sandpaper. Vacuum and clean affected area with WOCA Intensive Wood Cleaner to open the grain. Let dry a few hours and then polish in a small amount of WOCA Oil (your choice) and wipe off the excess. Depending on which WOCA Oil you use to repair the scratch, please note the product cure time. Final results vary.

When a floor receives a machine-applied maintenance coat of WOCA oil, most scratches will be repaired by the application of oil, the polishing pad, and the weight, heat, and motion of the machine.

No. When a floor receives a machine-applied maintenance coat of WOCA oil, most scratches, stains and discoloration will be repaired by the strength of the Intensive Wood Cleaner, the application of oil, the polishing pad, and the weight, heat, and motion of the machine.

No. A WOCA Oiled floor doesn’t have to go through a whole home. Sand and refinish, you can re-oil only the parts of the floor that need it and it should blend nicely.

We highly recommend using a floor machine when applying oil, but if you have an area of less than 400 square feet, you can polish the oil in by hand with a white 3M pad.

Step 1 - Clean the area to be re-oiled with WOCA Intensive Wood Cleaner and let dry completely.

Step 2 - Polish in a single coat of the WOCA Oil of your choice with a floor machine and a white pad and then towel buff off the excess. Depending on which WOCA Oil you use, please note the product cure time.

Step 3 - After the treated area is fully cured, damp mop with WOCA Natural Soap.

It's better if you do not sand. Try WOCA Stain Remover or Tannin Spot Neutralizer before attempting to spot sand.

Black stains are often tannin bleed caused by a reaction with metal and water. Apply WOCA Tannin Spot Neutralizer. If it at least fades the stain on the first try, it’s working. Repeat the application, but following up with a touch up application of WOCA oil is required to restore the protective finish. Results vary.

No. If you are re-oiling an area less than 400 sf, it can be done by hand. Over 400 sf, use a buffer.

Our preference is Maintenance Oil Diamond Active in Natural or White because it cures within 3 days.

If your floor has lost a lot of its original color and is not Natural or White, use the original color that was used on your floor initially.