I installed a regal hardwood floor called brandywine hickory, which is engineered, using a glue down approach. Since it was my first install, I was not very clean with the glue, and had to use mineral spirits and a rag to clean up glue spots as they were created. Overall this worked well, and since the wood has a polyurethane finish I think this method of cleaning glue is fine. So here is my dilemma I am in.

Most of the install looks absolutely great, although there are some weird unexplaining spots on some pieces, that don't see to go away. They are not colored, mostly look like fingerprints that will not clean off. I have tried a bona-fide cleaner with soft mop to no avail. I don't remember seeing these on any boards prior to install, and the leftover boards I have do not show these marks. They are not scratches as they don't take the color away, just show up when I look at some boards.

I have no clue how to remove these and I am worried I have somehow damaged something but don't know what I can do about it. I did nothing out of the norm, and as I've said most pieces are fine, but the pieces that show these won't seem to clean off.

Any suggestions as to what this could be? Am I going to need to reseal the entire floor? Since I have pre-finished wood, is there any way to clean something like this up? I am out of guesses as to what to do. I am sure nobody would notice these, but I am a perfectionist and can notice the difference as most pieces are perfectly blemish free.

Please help as this is driving me nuts.

thanks for reading this,
Jason

It sounds as if you used a urethane adhesive, which is the norm for today. On the bucket, it probably warned that if one doesn't get ALL the adhesive of right away, it will be difficult to remove, and it is. I think you have adhesive smudges that seem to etch themselves into the finish. Bostik's makes an adhesive remover that may help.

http://www.onlinefloorstore.com/store/p ... d=10000329

Dri-Tack makes their's:

http://www.academyfloor.com/index.php?m ... ucts_id=15

Henry's makes their's:

http://www.wwhenry.com/prod-972.htm

I don't know which is best. Often, you need to keep rubbing with a moistened, white polishing pad. It's a hassle.

Use a Mr Clean magic sponge with it . Works great .
Will take a liitle time so don't go rubbing to hard and destroy the finish ..
Tech department from a glue company gave me this tip .

If possible, post a clear pic of the blemish. Although Gary is most likely right on the money about these blemishes being residual glue, i would like to see them. On rare occasion, I have seen some kinda resin blemish appear on floors after installation. Usually on Jatoba and other exotics, but we dont use a lot of hickory here so dont want to guess.
Look very closely at these blemishes, are they perhaps under the finish?
The cleaner we use is kinda generic, but works with all the various urethane adhesives in our inventory. Made by "Sentinel". These removers will leave a residue on the surface that is very very slippery so usually there is a secondary cleaner to remove this residue after cleaning the glue off.

Thanx for that tip Nick, gonna try that today.

http://s405.photobucket.com/albums/pp139/BrewsterJason/

this is a pretty clear picture of what I am referring to, thanks again all, appreciate the help, someday I will understand floors )

Ya, looks like fingerprints to me. Try that trick with the Mr Clean thingys,
should work, but just rub lightly in the direction of the grain

Will try the Mr Clean trick, just for knowledge, if somebody were to scrub too hard and wear the finish off, what is the typical amount to fix something like that for a couple hundred square feet? Not that I want to do this, but was curious to have basic idea for future work I may encounter. I live near Dallas, TX.

Thanks all for the advice, I am a rookie but hope to learn more with help from others, appreciate it greatly.

JB

Well with pre-finished flooring, it is usually better (IMO) to change a few boards, rather than re-coat an entire surface. This does not apply if floor is a site finshed product.
Our company charges approx. $40.00 per board with a $400.00 minimum.

I am looking online for the Mr clean sponge, and typically only see ads for the eraser, is this what I need?

Mr Clean Magic Eraser?

Thanks again all,
JB

You're welcome guys .
Yes brewman , it's the eraser . There is a reason i leave a trail of breadcrumbs back to my house .
Walmart , and places like that carry them . i think they are around $3.00 for a couple of them .
With the finishes being so soft today just let the cleaner and the eraser do the work .

I heard about that magic eraser. I'm gonna have to get me one. BTW, it looks like residual adhesive to me in the photos. With the scraping/distressing, no wonder it was a hassle to remove it all.

Do like i did Gary , i took the box from the house and played dumm when the little women ask me if i saw them .

tried it out tonight on a few spots and it works perfectly. Not sure how it happened, but I have 2 small spots that won't come off, looks like the seal was scraped possibly when removing glue. Kind of a bad spot as it's right in front of the main couch. Is it possible to use touch up marker on a small spot like that? I did get hand scraped wood with the intent of my 2 year old likely damaging wood at some point in the future. I don't have the knowledge to pull the boards and replace them, and honestly I feel like it i just a floor, does it really need to be flawless.
I would however like to find a good touch up pen and some sealer for one small gap that formed due to an error by a wall. Does anybody know how I would find the best color match for my wood? It is a hickory stain, my mom bought me a walnut marker but I tested it on a sample piece and it is a shade too dark.
I was pretty worried about the spots, I greatly thank all on this thread who have offered advice to me. The lord is always ensuring humanity works together, and it is clearly evident in cases like this.

JB

try HD , or lowes brewman .
Miniwax has a putty in a jar .Sometimes you can putty it then apply a little stain with the marker over it and it will blend better .
If you are anywhere close to me in South Jersey i will stop by and do a free board replacement for you if needed .
Nick .