Question: Can I refinish stair treads without hiring a professional? Answer: Dear Diane Maybe, but this is a very tough job. I use a floor edger and balance it gingerly by hand in the air and wisk off the old finish with coarse and then fine sandpaper. Then I scrape the corners and vibrate sand the edger marks out with a 1/2 sheet Porter Cable vibrator sander, with 80 grit floor sanding paper. Then hand sand those marks out with 80-100 grit sandpaper, depending on whether I am going to stain or not. Perhaps the daunting task is really removing all the old finish. You could try to do this by chemically stripping instead. Just read my Chemically Stripping Floors article in the Floored News section of this site. I think however you might find this messy and you may endanger the wood work beside it and below it. So instead be prepared to scrape off the old finish. my favorite scraper for this task is the Richard type W series at http://www.richardtools.com/paint/paint_the_w_series.html. The large 14″ handle allows you to use both hands when the going get tough. But the blade must be razor sharp, so use a handled 10″ mill bastard file to sharpen this new scraper blade at just the same factory bevel, with a little off the corners to prevent gouging. Do the sharpening often as you work, by holding it close to your chest with one hand and filing as you sight down the bevel with the other hand. Have the blade pointing away from you. Scrape, then vibrate sand, then hand sand. Or if you want to use a cabinet type floor scraper, there is a new one out by Lee Valley Tools. Go directly to http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=45784x=1%2C310x=x= 1. But I should warn you that sharpening the HCS style blade ( requires burnishing ) is quite an art, but one you get good at it, you will save a lot of hand sanding. If you found this information helpful, please explore the Wood Floor Doctor.com by visiting the rest of our website. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: Dear Joseph, Thank you for your valuable information. The website you provided was very useful but it appears to be Canadian, do you know of anywhere in England where i can buy the tinted wood filler? many thanks Rebecca. Answer: Dear Rebecca I would suggest you contact some local carpentry or cabinet making companies, and see what they use. But if you are really stuck try http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?SID=x=1x=20073x= 1,190,42997 Although this is one of my favorite mail order companies for tools, the filler is about twice the price of the Le Pages. But at least it can be ordered from the mail. I just could not find a British wood finish supplier that had this kind of tinted water based filler. Your local paint store might be a good place to start also. If you found this information helpful, please explore the Wood Floor Doctor.com by visiting the rest of our website. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.-

Question: The floor guys used shiny polyurethane on our newly-refinished floors, even though we had asked for satin. They put down only one coat and don’t plan to come back — and I don’t want them back. My question: Can we sand ourselves and put down a second, satin coat, and get rid of the brightness? Thank you. Answer: Dear Pat I got both of your emails, and I am sorry to hear that you won’t allow the floor guys back. It’s just that they could have done the screen and recoat a whole lot easier than you can. But don’t worry, I will explain exactly how it is done. There is however a cheaper and simpler option, but it has its drawbacks. And that is to paste wax the floor. Wait for the poly to cure for at least 30 days. And here is a little exert from the second part of the cleaning article about this method of “dressing up a floor finish”. There are two available; Lite n Natural by Bruce at www.bruce.com, or try Dura Seal’s Liquid Floor Wax at 800-526-0495. These waxes have about the same consistency of semi melted butter. That makes them easy to apply, and be sure to do a thin coat. It will haze over when it’s dry (about 30 minutes), and then you can buff it with an electric buffing machine. Try to find one that has natural bristle pads on it, this will easily buff the floor to a nice satin sheen. You can also use the paste waxes from those little tins. The best method for these is to wrap a golf ball sized lump of wax into a piece of cheese cloth. Squeeze it gently and apply a thin coat to the floor and buff it when it hazes. Now the major problem with this method is that the floor will never accept another coat of poly in the future. You could never be sure of removing all the wax, and we know that nothing sticks to wax. Paste waxes have a nice satin sheen to them though, but they are mostly used on older more worn floors. So instead I’m going to send you the section of the article about just how poly is applied without pits or bubbles. You just need to see the middle section of the article, as the whole article assumes one is starting from scratch. Oh, and in your case the contractor’s one coat of poly is just to little finish on the floor in any case. They probably used a cheap sealer as the first coat, then applied only the one poly layer. So adding another coat is really worthwhile. The finish the contractor used should be dry enough for recoating in just 2-3 days after they have finished. But you can do it any time, up to say a year from now. Beyond a year the one coat job may start to wear out, so get it done. A buffing machine is also called a floor maintenance machine, and almost all rental places have one, and sell the screens also. Use a 100-120 grit screen. I also don’t know if the floor was stained before coating, so I’m just sending you the whole section. If you have a clear finished floor (some call it a natural finish) you need not be so careful. But if they used a lacquer sealer as the first coat, you should just take care not to screen though the thin coat of poly, and past the sealer. If you do, the poly you apply will color that spot darker than the rest of the floor. Don’t worry this is definitely a DIY job, just follow my instruction to the tee, it’s not rocket science. And now, once you are quite certain that the first coat of finish is quite dry, you can proceed in the screening. Use your buffing machine with the handle low to the floor, you don�t want to gouge too much finish off the wood, after all this is only a thin coat. If you have stained the floor, and are buffing the first coat, you must take even more care. Run the buffer in a corner first, and I suggest you dull the screen by sanding the screen itself. See if you are removing too much finish and are thereby removing the stain to the bare wood. This is a delicate operation. On the one hand you want to scuff the finish. Poly just will not stick to itself otherwise. But you don�t want to sand though the finish into the delicate stain. You may have to hand screen the floor instead. That�s why I always apply a smooth but heavy (500 sq. ft. per gal.) coating over my dried stains. But I still take care, and that�s why I charge almost double to sand and stain a floor. It�s a risky job. Run the buffer in both directions never stopping in any spot, just a nice easy back and forth motion. Go with the run of the wood, then repeat again against the run of the floor boards. This assures you that all low spots on the floor will have the finish well scratched. Next, get on your hand and knees and scuff sand the floor in all the areas that the buffer couldn�t reach. All along the edges. This gives you a chance to see if all the pits, lumps and blobs are sanded down smooth and flat with the surrounding finish. You may have to gently scrape out some blobs, and really sand those pits until they are not visible. The more fussy you are now the better the next coats will come out. This is precisely why you need a really dry finish, else all this scuff sanding will just make a gummy mess. Be patient. One you have a 100% scuff sanded finish, and it feels as smooth as a baby�s behind, you can start cleaning up. Vacuum twice again, with your industrial vacuum. Get into all the corners of course. Now you can tack rag the floor. I use white lint free rags (yes you can get lint free cotton rags at most big box stores, expensive but worth it). Choose the most lint free in rag in the box, and wet it well with paint thinner. In this case paint thinner is just right, it dries at just the right rate for cleaning the floor. Fold the rag in a long narrow bundle and using both hands on your knees wash the floor in a back and forth sweeping motion as you crawl backwards. I wear my Pro Knee knee pads so even after 23 years on the floor, I can still do this with comfort. And hey, I�m not here to tell you the easiest way to prep a floor, just the best way. I started tacking between coats of poly 21 years ago, and doing this on your knees is the best way to clear that fine powdery dust that the vacuum cannot suck up. Let the solvent dry completely. Don�t coat over any solvent, this will interfere with the poly and cause bubbles. You want the second coat to be almost perfect. When the solvent is dry and before you coat the floor check for dust and debris one more time, with your hand. If it is still dirty, do one more tack ragging. Now we come to the fun part, brushing on the finish. Yes I said BRUSHING. I quit using lamb�s wool applicators about 10 years ago, when I tried to clean one of these dirt collectors. After only 6 months of use (and cleaning between uses) I soaked it in solvent, and try as I might could not get all the dried caked finish globs and bits out of the interior of the lamb�s wool pad. Instead I purchased an 8� Embee natural bristle brush, and have always been able to clean this free of all contaminants. I now also have a 12� short bristle brush that I use on small jobs by hand. The longer nap Embee brush can be taped onto a pole and is almost as efficient as the old lamb�s wool applicator, without making the bubbles or leaving behind the junk. If you wish not to invest in $100 brushes at this time, I would recommend the 4� Purdy brand bushes, with the unvarnished wood handle. You may have to spend 30 dollars on a brush like this but you will never wear it out. Now here�s your floor brushing lesson. Filter the finish into these large disposable aluminum roasting pans. I buy my floor finish in 5 gallon containers, so I just have to put a few layers of cheese cloth over the spout held on with a rubber band. You do need to filter these reactive type varnishes because they are always in some state of curing some dried film in the can. The older the can the more junk is in it. I pour the finish slowly into the shallow roasting pan, so I don�t create bubbles in the finish. The shallow pan will release the bubbles faster in any case than a deep bucket. If you are using a satin finish (which I always do) you will have stirred the finish gently before you pour, to mix up those flatteners. Choose a game plan. You will want to do only a swath of finish that you can conformably reach across, so if your are applying the finish by hand with a brush don�t do more that a 3 foot by two foot area at a time. And if you are using that brush on a pole you can increase this to a 6 by 3 foot space. Of course each area will be one block in a series with the run with the floorboards. If this is parquet floor you will want your long swath of finish to be pointed at any windows, or parallel to a long wall. In either case keep the final brush strokes going always in the same direction for all coats. So, first wet the area by brushing in any direction, then comb the finish once and only once in the chosen direction. You will have only brushed the finish twice, so have not created too many bubbles in the finish. You will have overlapped the previous area just a few inches, so as not to disturb this last patch too much either. Do this slowly and deliberately, and if you are on your hand and knees (the best way to coat a floor if you have the really great Pro Knee pads), you will be able to look at the light from the window reflected off the floor, to really see what you have missed. Overhead lights, and coating a floor at night are not good at all. You need that angled light that only windows and strong sunlight can provide. I never start coating a floor past 2 PM. I just wait for the next day. Again I�m trying to tell you the best way to coat of floor, and if you are impatient, and rush through this second coat, you will have a lot more work to do before the third and final coat is applied. And if you are production floor mechanic I�m sure your eyes glazed over when you heard I brush on my finishes. Close the screen page now if you are too impatient to read this whole treatise. Your finishes will be forever bubbled and a pox on you. Always keep the floor temperature at 70 F, and I mean not just the air temp. The wood itself needs to be 70 F. If you have an unheated crawl space under the floor the wood may not actually be that warm. I have a few more hints. Wear a hat when coating (we hate to see hairs caught in the finish), and be sure to wear clean clothes the day of the second and third coat. Ventilate all coats with a large fan about 4-5 hours after the finish is applied (or when the surface is hard enough not to have dust stick to it). And Pat, the finish I use is the Fabulon Brand heavy duty satin polyurethane (800-364-1359). It’s just the best satin poly out there. You should be able to find this brand at a supply shop that caters to the floor trades themselves, not one of the those floor boutiques.

Question: Do the warranties with Bruce wood floors ever get the consumer a replacement? I have a 7 year old dura luster floor that has some spots where the Polyurethane is gone and I have bare wood. Not sure it’s worth the hassle of being put on hold at Bruce’s 800 number. Dave Answer: Dear Dave I don’t think you will or should get a replacement. With hard, hard use anyone can wear out any factory finish, in a few areas. And if the floor has got a 20 year warranty on the finish you should be at least entitled to having the floor resanded and refinished. After all the wood hasn’t worn out, only the finish has. You might take the time to read the article on wood floor maintenance. You must have been pretty tough on this floor to wear out this finish in seven years. I’ve got customers with this same finish, and I talked to them recently. After now 13 years they say the finish in the living-dining room is still just fine. But of course I gave them good instructions on how to maintain it. When you have the floor resanded they will have to remove quite a bit of wood. This is so the little micro-bevels are eliminated. Else no new finish will stick to the old finish on those bevels. So in effect you are doing a great deal of wearing of the wood itself by resanding. And this will take at least 1/6 of the total life of the floor off. At this rate you will have a very short lived floor. 6 times 7 years is only 42 years. Maybe the floor is in a kitchen ? Does $2 per square foot for refinishing and 1/6 the value of the wood sound worth the hassle ? Anyway, Bruce does deal with a lot of warranty repairs, but not usually replacements, when the most of the wood is sound. And as long as it is not a pro rated warranty, you should be able to recoup the cost of refinishing the floor,and if you really persist, the cost of removing 1/6 of the life before it’s time. Funny thing my sand-on-site finished floors, have lasted 22 years so far, and they are still going. But I know lots of secrets, that most floor finishers don’t. So if and when it comes to that be sure to ask for our Pro Series article on Oil Modified Polyurethane. And if you want we can take the particulars of your floor’s problems ( pictures ), see if you did anything untoward to the floor, and help you lobby Bruce for some compensation. I am about to do an article on warranties, so this may help you and others. But a small donation will help get us started. We can at least report to our readers just how Bruce handles it’s warranties, it will make an interesting read.

Question: Hello wooddoc, I just had Bruce prefinished redoak floors put into my home just before Christmas. Since that time, I’ve barely used them due to renovations on that side of the house. While I was away last week on vacation, there was a leak(renovators fault) which damaged the floors (they look warped in areas as well as black where the boards meet). He wants to just resand and finish….will this take care of the problem, or should I have him replace the damaged boards? I’m worried that there is still moisture underneath the boards. Any advice you could give is much appreciated. Thanks Jennifer Answer: Dear Jennifer It’s not a good idea to sand a floor that has warped a bit, at least not so soon. The moisture may still be in the subfloor, and this takes about 4-6 months before you can be really sure it has dried out. The good news is that in many cases ( and I have seen this many times ) the wood will settle back down on it’s own. On the other hand I was forced by a anxious bar owner to repair a water damaged floor, and we had to remove the offending boards and let the subfloor dry out. I’m afraid the plywood subfloor was soaked and it wasn’t dry after a few days, of waiting. The new patch went in loosely but swelled up tight in a day. Then in 6 months it settled down again, but it was a rough looking repair. Now that all said, if your are anxious to get your floor back to normal, have the swelled boards removed and the subfloor dried with a fan. Check the moisture content of the subfloor, and don’t repair the floor until the MC matches the MC of the dry boards in the rest of the floor. In most cases this will make a better job than sanding the whole floor or just sanding a part of it. It may be impossible to match the floor finish to the factory finish in any case. And that’s why a replacement of the bad pieces is better. And for that matter, sanding a floor will remove 1/6 of it’s total life from it. And even more if the wood has warped. Best in my opinion, to have a hold back of funds and wait and see what the floor will do on it own. Replacement is the way to go when someone else is paying and your are in a hurry. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: My mother grew up mopping floors with pine disinfectants. I installed Bruce prefinished flooring in her home a couple of years ago. Needless to say I told her not to use water to clean her floors, but she did not listen. Now the flooring has become grainy in texture and dull. Since this is a laminate floor product, how would I go about refinishing them? I was told this could be done up to 3 times. I can’t seem to get the information even at Bruce’s homepage. Can you point me in the right direction? Answer: Dear David You must mean laminated or engineered wood floor. Laminates are vinyl. If and only if the floor has at least a 1/8″ top veneer layer can you POSSIBLY sand it once. If the floor is reasonably flat you MIGHT find a professional willing to chance this sanding. You see, he has to sand off the beveled edges as well as flattening the floor for the first time. So the ability to sand this rather thin veneered floor is limited. I guess it also depends on how well the installation was done. It can only be judged in person by an honest pro. Find one. If in the other hand it is a thicker 1/6″ veneer layer you should have no worries, by all means have it sanded and refinished at least this once. Make sure they use a finish that is easy to re-coat. I would suggest you apply 3-4 coats of a good quality oil modified polyurethane. Use no lacquer sealers!!!! Water based finishes are out, they may further damage the veneer. Be SURE to read my floor maintenance article available in the search box at the top of this web page. And before you hire someone read my Hiring Contractors article also available in the search box at the top of this web page. Oh, and if you have the thinner veneer, and the pros refuse to sand it, consider chemically stripping it instead. Read my article on this subject also available in the search box at the top of this web page. Once all the old finish is off, you may be able to smooth the floor with an Orbital Floor Sander (the article on this available in the search box at the top of this web page) and finish it with 3-4 coats of OMP. This last method may not work well if the floor is a waxed prefinished product (you didn’t say). It’s very hard to get all the wax out the seams, and this will interfere with the new finish.

Question: Hi, well I finally got around to sending you back an email….too much going on. I ordered, but have not received the product you indicated. I am hoping it will work………………………… Please let me know what you think of what I mentioned. thanks Jennifer Answer: Dear Jennifer Wow, that was a long time ago. 3 months or more since we talked last. You will really have to wait and try those products from the Cleaning Center. I do hope you mentioned my web site to the good folks at the Cleaning Center. You need to get not just the Wood Wash, but the Mop Stripper as well. Remember back then, when I suggested that the dull finish was simply an old acrylic polish that by now has gone dull. This kind of polish is what they use on Sunday night on your local supermarket floor, and lasts only until about Wednesday in this high use situation. Do the test I mentioned in the last email about determining the presence of acrylic wax, and let me know. It seems like I am repeating myself. I cannot help you until you do the tests and try the methods I suggest. We need to eliminate the obvious problems. There are more solutions to getting a gloss back on the floor if these methods fail. You will find that the manufactures know little of floor maintenance, and really only try to sell their quite inadequate and expensive floor care products. The Cleaning Center on the other hand is dedicated to only the task of cleaning.

Question: How would you rate Brazilian Hardwood Company vs. Bellawood? I am going to purchase 3/4″ thick 3 1/4″ wide Santos Mahogany prefinished and am leaning towards Brazilian Hardwood. I will also have to install engineered flooring on my first floor because it is concrete (I don’t like the parquet). How is Bostik Best glue? Thanks!!! Cindy Answer: Dear Cindy I don’t generally buy from wood floor companies unless they have been in business at least 10 years. And Bellawood only started in 1996. And I am a bit suspicious of companies, that are offering a 50 year warranty. Warranties are more of a marketing ploy than a realistic statement of how good their wood is. But that’s not to say that Bellawood makes a bad product. My only other hesitation with Bellawood is that they are affiliated with Lumber Liquidators, and while L. L. may sell a lot of wood, like a Home Depot, most of it is second rate, and priced to go. You should first read my article Prefinished Which to Choose ? You really must take a box of wood and lay it out on a flat surface. Whether glue down or nail down, the prefinished boards should fit together well by hand. To tell you the truth my favorite brand, year in and year out has been Mirage or Lauzon. Fits like a glove. Just read my article on the Melrose product, that I bought here in Toronto locally and you will see what trouble poorly milled or poorly stored wood flooring can cause. I couldn’t find any info on Brazilian Hardwood Company, but maybe you mean Brazilian Direct? As far as Santos ( Myroxylon, balsamum) it is a hard dense wood that is quite moisture stable that should work well in most climates. It’s good to buy this stuff prefinished, as there are a couple of finishing issues here. Very difficult to sand, due to the hardness, the dust can cause severe allergic reactions, and some polyurethane finishes have been know to leave streaks because of reactions to oils and resins in this wood. But if you have prefinished wood, you will not experience any of those problems. It’s a great looking wood in this case. And by the way Lauzon makes a solid wood Santos, and some interesting thick faced engineered wood. They’ve been in the wood floor milling business for 18 years and have a better finish called Polynium on all their prefinished products. This stuff wear like iron, I’m not kidding. Non toxic when sanded at some future date also. Check them out at http://www.lauzonltd.com/profile/profile.html Oh, and it’s too bad you don’t like parquet because Birger Juell has got some glue down custom parquet that rivals those great European floors, and because this is all solid wood, it will last many lifetimes. Check his stuff out at http://www.birgerjuell.com/downloads.html As far as the glue goes Bostik Best is quite a fine urethane adhesive, I’m just partial to the Dri Tac products because I’m familiar with their longest lasting glue Dri Tac 6200. They also have the 7500 urethane adhesive, and as long as you realize that both Bostik Best and Dri Tac 7500 have really short open times. As little as 30 minutes for the Dri Tac 7500 (but no flash off time), and (after 1 hour flash off) 2 hours of installing for Bostik Best. The shorter the open time the quicker the glue will grab and hold some bowed pieces, but the progress of the job will be slower. So know how well your wood is milled, and choose the glue that suits the wood, and the levelness of your subfloor. But in either case if you have an assistant with a watch either glue will install quickly and efficiently. You would be fine with either product. Be sure to order the urethane adhesive remover, it’s the only solvent I know that will take this gunk off the wood surface and your hands. I hate going home with black hands. Both urethanes have a one year shelf life, from the date of manufacture. So check for this, and don’t buy any old material. Keep this stuff covered after opening. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: Will Bonna Kemis protect against urine? Will any hardwood finish protect against urine and/or water? What is the best protection Wilma Sue Answer: Dear Wilma Sue No, I’m sorry but any finish including the catalyzed water based coatings like Bona Kemi’s Traffic won’t protect a floor for long against a puddle of urine. Urine is mostly water, and water molecules are like little octopi and will slither past the smallest seam And then invite more of it’s friends on the same route. The wood will swell and the acid in the urine will stain the wood an ugly smelly black color. And all the damage is under the finish at this point. That all said, of all the finishes I have used, I find that the good old Oil Modified Poly has just about the best water repellancy of all the finishes. Thats because it is truly a crosslinking finish, and the molecules in the finish form a flexible but impermeable bond on the wood. It may not be as scuff resistant as the Traffic but poly ages better, to a mellow amber tone. I have seen water based finishes that in only a few years become so opaque that you could hardly tell the wood species under the finish. They also may tend to get a bit brittle in harsh sunlight. But check out jobs that are 5-10 years old with the Bona Kemi Traffic and see for yourself. Any contractor who is recommending any finish should have and be willing to show you jobs that are at least that old. This is the only way you can really assess the finish and the floor contractor. Oh, and the Hiring contractors is a worthwhile read in the Hardwood Authority section of this site. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.

Question: Thank you for your promised quick response. I guess the only question you didn’t answer is, wouldn’t or doesn’t a waxed floor have a deeper more lustrous finish? Second question is you say that I chose a light finish for a dark stained floor. What water based poly would you have used on a newly stained dark finish…Understand that a certain amount of scratching is expected, this I know, but is there a dark poly finish that scratches dark? You talk about a light colored finish on a dark stain…what could they use that would lessen the light scratches? For your edification, I chose this wood for it’s tight grain and inherent ability to stain really dark. I want to avoid that white build up that you say wax will cause. Do you really mean to say that wax over time won’t make it look more beautiful? I understand also fully that waxing it will never allow me to go back to a poly finish…but if it give a richer deeper lustrous finish, I’m willing to maintain it with monthly buffing and tri monthly waxing…. However you make a good case against wax because of buildup and spotting, which in the kitchen would over time be maddening. Now, you say two coats on the deep scratches (which will be screened and restained and polyed) and then three more coats? Then how do I maintain it from day to day? A slightly damp mop using Polycare or do you have another product you recommend. I don’t quite understand what a refresh kit is…Also, as much as we take off our shoes, frankly, I think it’s bizarre to make people remove their shoes, unless the weather is inclement. A mat at the door should suffice and we women will not give up our shoe affair for a wood floor…I just want to minimize the dullness and have the floor look more lustrous….the satin finish is okay but not super…see photos below…it’s pretty spectacular, but in one or two of the photos, you see that multi scratched used look….and this is a clean floor…mopped yesterday… Thanks again, Ann Answer: Dear Ann It’s too bad I couldn’t get the photos, you might try again in a separate email if it’s not too much trouble. Anyway, over dark or darkly stained floor I always use an oil modified polyurethane. This finish stays clear and only ambers a bit over many years. The amber color doesn’t interfere with the dark wood or dark stain. So, the floors ages to that nice lustrous finish you refer to. But the probable reason why they used a water based coating over the Wenge, is that this wood (along with other tropical woods) sometimes contain resins which interfere with the drying of oil based finishes. The water based finish in my opinion has far too much of a pale bluish tone to it. You can see this if you coat a piece of glass with this finish. Over time water base finishes can turn even more opaque when exposed to strong sunlight. it’s a very subtle change, but once pointed out it’s noticeable. Most water based finish manufactures suggest their finish will last about 10 years. It’s this “whitening” that is the limiting factor. There is a chemical cause for this, but that a complex discussion. So in any case, water based finishes will never deepen and darken in color or tone, as you wish. Sorry, I hate to tell you that now. And paste wax will never change the tone of the finish either. That’s why I suggested the Bona Kemi refresher kit. It’s made to top dress the water based finish. Did you click on this link and have a look at this product ? Again it has the distinct advantage of allowing the floor to be recoated, which is very important. I reiterate; that you should do two touch up coats only on the scratches. I don’t think that the scratches have gone through to the stain. Use a small brush and just touch up the deep ones. Have a pro do this, they know how to prep the floor so that the finish will stick. The just have them do a final prep (they can use a special chemical prep agent, instead of dry scuff sanding the finish) and then they only need to apply ONE coat of the proper water based finish to the floor. As to the shoes off or on, it’s up to you, but adding outside grit to the floor will dull any finish in no time. A billion Asians can’t be wrong, and they think our custom of tracking dirt and grit onto our lovely floors is weird. I agree. Take your choice, but expect a lot more work to keep your floors looking good, when you choose not to give up your affair with wearing hard shoes indoors. As always your Most humble servant, Joseph, the Wood Floor Doctor.