Wood – How to easily clean up or refinish cheap top coat on hardwood

A1: Whether you or another appearance critic (spouses are common) can stand the way it looks. You pretty much have to try a spot and see what you think.

A1a: Don't use poly if you don't want a high gloss "look". Use an oil and see what you think. Even "matte" polyurethane is pretty shiny, as things go - but also look for yourself, that's my opinion.

A2: Sure, if you don't sand that deep and remove it all.

A3: a hardening oil finish will actually get dry. A non hardening finish, won't. Much easier to get the floor somewhat clean if it's not sticky. There is some problem of marketing confusing the issue - some vendors sell a "hardening oil finish" that others (more truthful) would just call a varnish. At the most basic level you have raw linseed oil and "boiled" linseed oil (not actually boiled, for the most part) - the raw never hardens, the boiling (or other chemical treatment) makes the boiled harden. Or "salad oil" (soy or canola) .vs. walnut oil - walnut naturally hardens, salad oil never does. But salad oil can go rancid...

Most of the stuff sold as "tung oil" or "Danish oil" is better described as a wiping varnish

Here is a link here for the kit and instructions on its use, if you feel this may do it. Depending on where the damage is, once touched up, furniture placement or rugs may do the rest which I would not recommend, but it is a shortcut instead of the alternative.

The alternative is selective plank replacement. I have seen this done in a few different ways, brute force with chop axe and hammer, more delicate but the same with chisel and hammer which I have done a lot of repairs myself with a chisel. My preferred way now is to use a set to depth circular saw to cut the middle of the plank length wise with 2 cuts about a 1/2" apart. This will keep the blade away from nails or staples that hold the floor. Of course, do not cut into the adjacent pieces, unless they need replacement too. Then with a sharp, wide chisel, say 1-2" wide, split the ends the rest of the way to the neighboring planks. when making this cut, angle the chisel so the crack is wider at the top from both directions so the center piece is easier to remove. There will be a tongue and groove joint to deal with on the ends, so with a smaller sharp chisel cut the center rip in the middle to allow to draw the tongue and groove apart from the adjacent planks. This 1/2" rip from the middle when cut in the middle and lifted out will provide a good "handle to grab to remove the center. Once that is done the groove side of the damaged plank is easy to remove. The tongue side take a little finesse and a dull chisel.

To reinstall the new section, remove the bottom half of the tongue. You will most likely need to cut it to length also. Slip the new piece in and nail the back edge where the modified groove is and use a colored wood filler to fill the set nails.