Glue spots on hardwood

[Jim Rimmer]

Thisd weekend I layed bamboo floors in the dining room; glued down. I did as the directions say and wiped of glue smears with mineral spirits as I wsent. But now, everything is done and dry and there are still spots where the glue was that I wiped off.

Any ideas on how to get that off?

Your help will be aprreciated.

[Julian Nicks]

Bummer. I am not sure what to say, but to try mineral spirits again?

[David Christopher]

Jim, what kind of glue did you use ? and the only 2 things I can think of is hot water ( for regular wood glue ) or maybe goo gone.....whatever works, I hope you can get it fixed

[Jim Rimmer]

Jim, what kind of glue did you use ?
The glue is Roberts 1408 for hardwood and bamboo floors - urethane adhesive.

[Jim Rimmer]

Thanks for the suggestions and now a follow up:

Goo Gon - doesn't work
Urethane glue remover - doesn't work
Paint thinner - doesn't work
Denatured alcohol - doesn't work
Rubbing alcohol - doesn't work
WD 40 and steel wool (0000) - kinda works

I tried all the above on cutoffs I had left over to check the impact on the finish. If i put WD40 on and let it soak for a 60-90 seconds and then rubbed with steel wool it kinda helped.

What I came to discover, at least IMHO, is that the glue is not stuck on the finish - I wiped it off as I went. What happened is it actually dulled the finish in the short time it was on it. I tried some natural Danish oil on a scrap piece and the spots disappeared. So, short of varnishing the entire floor, I guess I have to live with a few spots.

Word of advice if you are considering wood floors: If you are told they have to be glued down - run for the hills or hire a pro. It is very hard work.

[David Christopher]

Jim, do you think that the mineral spirits dulled the floor or the glue ?

[Jim Rimmer]

Jim, do you think that the mineral spirits dulled the floor or the glue ?
I'm pretty sure it's the glue because the spots are in odd shapes like the glue blobs. If it were the mineral spirits it would be in the shape of the swipe. And I tried all the things I listed below on scrap pieces and nothing seemed to hurt the finish. :confused:

[John Keeton]

What about using some pumice and mineral oil to buff back to the original sheen?

[Russ Filtz]

Or wait until your kids/dogs scuff up the rest of the floor to match!

[Prashun Patel]

If you can live with a few spots, you'll be the ONLY person who notices them. I had the same problem 8 years ago, and by now even I don't notice them.

You'll save yrself a lot of headache if you make yourself believe that wood floors look better with some antiquing!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

WD 40 and steel wool (0000) - kinda works
[...]rubbed with steel wool it kinda helped.


It may be that the waxes and non-evaporating oils in WD40 are giving you a false report.

WD40 is nothing but
** Mineral Spirits:
** kero,
** Lube oil
**wax
and propellant

I'd try some kind of polishing compound. like auto buffing compound or Mother' (brand)s Chrome polish. At your local Auto supplier you can get a polishing compound with no silicone in it meant for buffing out finishes. There are grades but If you get the one that's made for "dark" paint colors it'll have the finest grade abrasive.

[Russ Filtz]

Or some paste type (not gel) toothpaste?

[Lee Schierer]

I have been able to remove urethane wood glue from my hands with lacquer thinner. But it might also take off the finish on your floor.

[Jim Rimmer]

I finally found something to fix the glue spots on the bamboo floor I put down. Even though I cleaned off the glue immediately, it left small spots. After many trial and errors, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t glue left on the wood but that the urethane glue had actually dulled the finish. I used acetone, mineral spirits, WD40, Old English polish, 0000 steel wool, and many other things looking for a solution.

Once I figured out that it was finish damage and not left over glue I started looking for something else. This weekend I found Minwax Floor Reviver (at Home Depot) and it did the trick. The floors look terrific.

So, if you encounter this problem or want to spruce up some old wood floors, give it a try. But NEVER use urethane glue on wood floors no matter what the experts say.

[Garth Keel]

This way we don't have to go through the same problem.

[Ben Franz]

I've installed a few floors over the years and always used a standard wood glue like Titebond. Is the use of urethanes something being touted by the flooring manufacturers now? It would never occur to me to use them for flooring (or much else, for that matter :mad:). The old style glue downs that used a trowel applied mastic were bad enough. Between the solvents in the mastic and all the mineral spirits used for cleanup, I'm short a few million brain cells. What was I talking about :confused:?