Screen & Recoat in Fremont, CA

A screen and recoat is maintenance for a hardwood floor whose finish is dull and scuffed but still intact. Instead of sanding to bare wood, we lightly abrade the existing finish with a buffer and a fine screen or pad so a new coat can bond, then apply a fresh topcoat. The wood itself is not touched, so the floor keeps its thickness for future sanding.

When a recoat works and when it does not

A recoat suits floors with light surface scratches, dull traffic lanes and a worn sheen, as long as the finish has not worn through to bare wood. It will not fix deep scratches, gray worn spots, water stains, pet stains or a color you dislike; those need a full sanding and refinish or board replacement. Fixr notes screening only works on non-waxed polyurethane finishes with undamaged wood underneath, so we test first.

The adhesion test

New finish will not stick to wax, to some factory aluminum-oxide finishes, or to floors cleaned for years with polish or oil soap products that leave residue. Before quoting, we clean a small area and test whether a new coat will bond. If it fails, a recoat would peel, and we will tell you so rather than sell you one. Some prefinished floors need a manufacturer-approved recoat system instead of a standard screen.

How often to recoat

There is no fixed schedule. Busy households with kids, dogs and a back door to the yard wear finish faster than a quiet bedroom. Today's Homeowner notes recoating may be needed a few years after a refinish. The practical sign is when the sheen in the traffic lanes looks different from the edges of the room. Recoating then, before the wood is exposed, can push a full sanding back by years.

Cost and time

Fixr and Today's Homeowner both list recoating at about $1 to $2 per square foot, with buffing or screening at $1 to $2.50, compared with roughly $3 to $8 for a full refinish. Most recoats are done in a day per area, with drying time before light foot traffic and a longer cure before rugs go back. Because there is no sanding to bare wood, there is far less dust.

Choosing the finish

We match the new coat to what is on the floor: a water-based finish over a water-based floor, and a compatible product over oil-modified finishes. You can change sheen, for example from gloss to satin, with a recoat, but you cannot change color. The finishes we use meet California's VOC limits for wood coatings.