How do I make my hardwood floor shine like the NBA basketball courts?
by Tony
+6
My kitchen floor has red oak hardwood floor and I've just matched my family room floor with the kitchen floor. Now, how do I make both floors to shine like the basketball courts seeing on TV? Please give me advice on this.
Thanks,
Tony D.
Suggested Project Book
There are plenty of gloss (and high gloss) finishes for wood in your home store, but beware! Highly glossed hardwood is slippery when wet and if you're in bare feet or hard soled shoes, it's not a matter of IF someone will slip and fall, it's WHEN. That said, the floor must be absolutely smooth (sanded going from something with a low grit to something in the 200's range) and wiped clean of all dust and debris. This will cause a LOT of dust that will travel to other rooms, so be ready. I think sports floors use an epoxy finish rather than a poly finish because it is harder and won't scratch as much. That's a whole lot more complicated to apply and you'll need a vapor mask as well. Do a BUNCH of research before you start this project. What you learn may change your mind as to how shiny you want that floor.
I found a video on YouTube. I hope it helps...
https://youtu.be/z-XslxOyWEM
Water-Based Urethane Gym Floor Finish is a one-part water-based urethane/acrylic wood finish that provides long-lasting beauty and protection to all wood floors.
The basketball court floor takes the final finish coat—a high-gloss polyurethane. Water-based final finish, which is reapplied every off-season, as per NBA rules.
A screen and recoat consist of roughing up the top layer of finish on the floor with a light abrasive screening disk. This allows the new coat of finish to adhere to the existing finish coats to prevent cracking or peeling.
The floor is tacked with a rag until it is clean and a coat of finish is applied to the floor. Then all you have to do is allow the finish to dry (usually 48 hours with one coat).
The house my family lived in when I was growing up had a very large living room and the floor was all hardwood. My mother tried some of the liquid cleaning waxes but wasn’t satisfied with how the floor looked. My dad decided to try bowling alley wax on it and then use a buffer to polish it and make it shine! They always got compliments on how it looked. It made a great “in your socks” skating rink but wasn’t slippery enough to be dangerous. Plus we didn’t have to contend with all the airborne mess from a sander or the strong odor from heavy duty chemicals.