Removing Super-Glue from Prefinished Flooring
Super Glue spilled on a pre-finished hardwood floor. How you gonna get it off? November 26, 2006
Question
Is there a remedy for super glue that spilled and smeared onto Bruce flooring? Is there a way to remove this glue or does the floor have to be removed?
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor C:
Acetone is the solvent for superglue, but it can easily damage the finish on the floor as well. I would try to soften it with some acetone on a rag and lightly scrape or rub it off.
From contributor M:
Contributor C is right. I use MEK, since it dries much slower. If this is bare wood, pour some on and let it begin to melt the glue. Rub it as much as you can. You should be able to sand off anything left.
If the floor is finished already, you'll likely have to use a hard sanding block (a 2X3 piece of melamine works great) to sand the glue off of the finish with some 180 grit - gently. Work up the grits to around 4,000 or so to buff that spot on the floor (assuming this is a glossy floor). Any subsequent waxing done on the floor should even the sheen. Don't expect it to look perfect, but will look better than a glob of superglue.
From contributor A:
Here is another option. Rather than starting out sanding, first use a sharp razor blade to cut as close to the finish as you can. This will remove the bulk of the super glue, and save you a lot of sanding to level out the glue. You might want to do some research on a small Micro Mesh sanding and polishing kit.
From contributor O:
You didn't mention how old the floor is. Some of the finishes available now are just about immune to any kind of solvent known to man. I have a cheap kid's rocking chair I wanted to change the color on, so I thought no problemo, brush on some good stripper (MC based) and let it sit a few minutes and then go at it. That $10.00 rocker has the toughest damn finish this boy has ever run into. The finish on your flooring may be just as tough (test a small area) and you may just get away with using an acetone or lacquer thinner to lift the finish from the flooring without creating damage to the floor finish itself.
The comments below were added after this Forum discussion was archived as a Knowledge Base article (add your comment).
Comment from contributor B:
I just want to thank you so much for the advice above with using nail polish remover. I have a bottle of 100% acetone and I was able to effectively remove every drop/smear of the super glue that hit my Bruce Hardwood floors!
