Process and apparatus for restoring the luster to the surface of factory finished wooden floors

Abstract

A floor abrading machine is used to abrade the surface of a factory finished wooden floor so the abraded surface may be recoated with a fresh coat of wooden floor finish. Abrasion of the surface provides anchor sites to achieve a strong bond between the pre-existing abraded finish and the fresh coat of wooden floor finish. The process requires abrading, not removing the factory finish down to bare wood, and recoating to restore the luster to a factory finished wooden floor. Conventional sanders remove the finish down to bare wood to refinish a wooden floor that has been installed and finished in place.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] Many surface coverings, such as factory finished wooden floors, can contain a resilient, wear-resistant topcoat and one or more intermediate coats. The surface of the finish of factory finished wood flooring can become scuffed, scraped, or marred when subjected to foot traffic and wear from anything that can come into contact with the finish. As a result, the finish looses its luster and becomes unsightly. [0002] Factory finished hardwood floors are a growing segment of the wood flooring industry. These floors have their finish applied in the factory as opposed to the traditional method of having a contractor finish the floor on-site after installation. Some factory finished flooring manufacturers, as a means of giving their product a competitive advantage over traditional wood floors finished on site, have incorporated wear-resistant particles, like aluminum oxide, into these factory applied finishes. The aluminum oxide in the finish allows factor...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] This invention is a portable floor abrading machine and a process to abrade the finish of a factory finished wood floor to recoat and restore the luster to the surface. The floor abrading machine uses a brush with abrasive impregnated filaments to abrade the surface of a factory finished wood floor. The abrasives are selected from the group including aluminum oxide, silicone carbide and mixtures thereof. The process imparts microscopic scratches in the factory applied finish to provide anchor sites to achieve a good bond between the pre-existing abraded finish and the new coat of wood floor finish. Conventional wood floor surfaces are refinished and sanded down to the bare wood. The present invention abrades and recoats but does not completely remove the factory applied finish of the factory finished wood floor. The abrading brush used in the present invention has radial filaments impregnated with abrasive particles. Most floors are slightly uneven, even installed factory finished floors, due to the uneven sub-floor or minor variances in the wood thickness and manufacturing tolerances. The floor unevenness will create “high spots” and “low spots” in the floor. Both of these conditions are a challenge when it is time to restore the luster to a factory finished floor. When the filaments of the abrading brush encounter “high spots” they bend so the finish on this portion of the floor is not abraded down to bare wood. In the case of “low spots”, the abrading brush is designed with filaments long enough to reach into and sufficiently abrade the finish in “low spots” that would be encountered on a typical floor. Conventional recoating processes which use a buffer and screens do not perform well on floors which contain “high spots” and “low spots”. When a buffer with a screen encounters a “high spot” on the floor, it tends to completely remove the finish of a factory finished wooden floor down to the bare wood. It is undesirable to abrade the finish down to bare wood on the “high spots” because the overall floor coloring no longer is uniform and may need to be restained. It is difficult and often impossible to restain an exposed “high spot” to match the rest of floor. Further it is time consuming and adds to the expense of the project. When a conventional buffer and screen encounters a “low spot” it is likely to pass right over the area without ever abrading the finish. Once the new top coat of finish is applied, it is unlikely that the finish will adhere properly to the under coat of finish in the area of the “low spot” because no abrasion has occurred to allow for a mechanical bond to take place between the two coats of finish.

[0010] Various types of conventional sanders may be used in this invention after being fitted with an abrading brush. These conventional machines with an abrading brush may be used to recoat and restore the luster to the surface of a factory finished wood floor including the following: ModelSourceEZ-8Clarke Division of ALTO U.S. Inc. inSpringdale, Arkansas, U.S.A.Handy 8 and Handy 8EQuide S.A.Deva, Guipuzcoa, SpainScorpion and LibraKünzle & Tasin S.p.A.Milano, ItalyKünzle & Tasin U.S. Inc.Fort Lee, New Jersey, U.S.A.ProfitEugen Lägler GmbHGuglingen - Frauenzimmer, GermanyStandard 8Bonakemi ABMalmö, Spain506Galaxy Floor Sanding MachinesToronto, Ontario, Canada5L-8*Essex Silver-Line Corp.Dracut, Massachusetts, U.S.A.HT8-1.2*Hire Technicians Group Ltd.Watford, Herts, United Kingdom

[0011] *The machines denoted with an asterisk have two wheels and the machine tips back to raise the machine out of contact with the floor and tips forward to lower the machine into contact with the floor for sanding. The other machines listed above have a lever mechanism like the EZ-8 that raises the machine out of contact with the floor and lowers the machine into contact with the floor for sanding. Those skilled in the art are familiar with both of these designs, i.e. the lever mechanism and the tip forward design. The EZ-8 operates at about 1800 RPM; some of the other machines listed above operate at about 2800 RPM.

Problems solved by technology

Most floors are slightly uneven, even installed factory finished floors, due to the uneven sub-floor or minor variances in the wood thickness and manufacturing tolerances.

Both of these conditions are a challenge when it is time to restore the luster to a factory finished floor.

Conventional recoating processes which use a buffer and screens do not perform well on floors which contain “high spots” and “low spots”.

When a buffer with a screen encounters a “high spot” on the floor, it tends to completely remove the finish of a factory finished wooden floor down to the bare wood.

It is undesirable to abrade the finish down to bare wood on the “high spots” because the overall floor coloring no longer is uniform and may need to be restained.

It is difficult and often impossible to restain an exposed “high spot” to match the rest of floor.

Further it is time consuming and adds to the expense of the project.

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