When Can I Walk on my Newly Sealed Hardwood Floor

Hello and welcome to another WFR Blog Post.


Today's offering will be fairly short but for you Diy-ers out there its something you should know and act upon.

The question [sent in via email] is "When can I walk on my Newly Sealed Hardwood Floor ? "

If you have applied a good quality flooring lacquer, such as Junckers Strong or Bona Mega, and you have for examples sake finished applying the coats of lacquer in the late afternoon, I would recommend waiting a minimum of 3-4 hours before walking on the newly overcoated floor.

The general rule of thumb is that the longer you leave the floor to dry/cure the better, if you do finish properly applying the lacquers late in the afternoon then I would heartily recommend leaving the area until the following day before you go back into the room to inspect your handiwork, the room will then almost certainly be perfectly dry and ready for light foot traffic.

I realize that this isn't always possible, if for example the area you are renovating is an Entrance Hallway that leads through to other area's of your property where you need access, if this is the case then you really do need to leave the floor for 3-4 hrs to dry properly before re-using the area, but I will say only lightly use the area, and then as little as possible, the last thing you want is an unsightly footprint in the middle of your newly sealed floor.....because if the lacquer is still tacky then a foot-mark WILL show up when it dries.....

Although the lacquer may be dry to the touch it won't be fully cured for between 48-72 hours after the product has been applied, sometimes longer depending on the site drying conditions. Some manufacturers products have even longer curing times than 72hrs, but which ever product you are using do your homework and read through the instructions on both application and drying/curing times for your product......Knowledge is power....

This example is for a Lacquered finish on a Red Oak floor, if the seal you have applied to your floor is an Oil then the drying times are likely to be longer, check with the product manufacturers website for the correct drying times.

Hope this helps......Thanks for reading.