Wood Floor Refurbishing | South Jersey, NJ

Commercial and Residential Wood Floors Rejuvenated

Even the highest-quality wood floors can take a beating over time, losing their rich luster through constant wear, developing scratches and stains. But SPARKLE Surface Care can fix all that and you can always count on fair and competitive pricing for truly superior results. Just look at our case studies and the many reviews from our customers.

We understand that your hardwood flooring is a significant investment and deserves the very best workmanship and care. SPARKLE Surface Care is a National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) Certified Wood Refinisher. We use the latest “dustless” technology and environmentally compliant-professional grade finishes to give you the look and lasting beauty you’re searching for. Whether you need to have your floors installed, maintained, repaired, refinished, sealed, stripped or just cleaned you can trust our knowledgeable team to get the job done right.

Why Have Your Wood Floors Sanded & Refinished?

  • The walk areas look worn, dull or thin compared to other areas
  • There are scratches or marks from furniture or things tracked or dragged across the floor- chairs, heavy furniture, toys, even high heels
  • The scratches or gouges feel deep, gaping or through the finish
  • There is evidence of pet damage- urine marks, nail scratches, chewing
  • You can see dark watermarks, rings or black areas on the boards, say from plants, water leaks from a roof or leaky windows, appliance failure, or sink overflow, etc.
  • Milky or cloudy patches are seen on the floor, or peeling or blistering of areas in the finish
  • Direct sunlit areas have faded areas. There may be a difference when area rugs are removed from the floor
  • Polish has been used on the floors, or popular coatings readily available to treat the floors, even furniture polish over-spray
  • Boards are damaged, missing, split, cupped or curled
  • “Vintage,” old-outdated wood when you are looking for an updated “fresh” look


If you have any of these issues, then the writing is on the wall… um… floor, actually. It’s time to sand and refinish!

The Best Hardwood Floor Refinishing

“Dustless” Hardwood Refinishing
Foyer in traditional suburban home with curved staircase

One of the things home and property owners hate most about getting their hardwood floors refinished is all the wood dust blowing everywhere. We hate that too. We use the latest “dustless” technology that minimizes the dust, making the process much less invasive. In fact, along with our staff’s daily detailing of surfaces, the dust control results in a very subtle, minimal amount which most find more than tolerable. Though not truly dustless, most every piece of equipment has vacuum filtration and puts out far, far less dust than older, more traditional equipment. We also seal off the rooms to be worked on with plastic sheeting whenever possible to prevent what dust is generated from getting everywhere. Vents are removed, ducts are covered, and HEPA filtration is used. And, naturally, as tipped off above, we clean up after ourselves. We do absolutely all we can to minimize the intrusion of dust on your home and property.

But, it’s our secret extra step which we can boast sets our sanding apart and above, to a whole different level very few re-finishers in our industry care to invest in, let alone provide!

Superior Sanding Results with “Cabinetry/Furniture Grade” Technology

Experts and professionals will agree that much of the success in refinishing centers squarely upon the degree of precision in the sanding. We agree. And, the standards written and adhered to by the NWFA (National Wood Flooring Assoc.) cite that the hardwood should be sanded to their acceptable level of standard, in itself often ignored.

We at Sparkle exceed the NWFA Standard for sanding, and take the sanding standard to the next level, “cabinetry and furniture” grade. This level of smoothness is far superior, meaning much, much flatter, and so smooth to the touch, one can compare to a baby’s cheek! If you think about it, cabinets and furniture are closer in proximity to human contact and inter-action, touch and eye-sight wise, and therefore are finished to a higher degree of smoothness. As compared to “floor standards” which can be done to a lesser grade, because technically human inter-action is deemed at “standing level.”

However, some finish technology used to aid in the finishing process eases the burden on the re-finisher, while simultaneously achieving the higher cabinetry grade of sanding.

Trio Technology sanding
Our secret to cabinetry/furniture grade sanding for amazingly flat and super-smooth results.

We introduce “Trio” Technology, by Llagler, the world’s finest dustless-finish sanding system. In keeping with our mantra of investing in superior equipment and systems, we learned early on this technology “needed to be on board” in our bag of tricks. And, in our travels we know very few of our competitors have invested in it (to date, we know of only three companies in South Jersey who use this in their work.)

As the sanding progresses thru the menu of “rough” sanding grits, across all surfaces, the sanding team is finished with the drum sander, edger and most of the hand sanding. Now we switch to the Trio Technology. In an orchestrated pattern the Trio blends all sanding efforts and culminates to a cabinetry grade crescendo’. The result is what some even called pure magic (and the true passion and secret to our lead sander’s sizzle- this is what gets his adrenaline racing as he anticipates dazzling his customers!)

Finally, with some last attention to detail, the sanding is complete, and ready for the next nuance.

“Water Popping”

True hardwood refinishing craftsmen wouldn’t dream of finishing a floor without exercising the water popping technique. While seemingly a somewhat fancy nomenclature, water popping is nothing more than a safeguard technique to refine the canvas that prepares the raw, sanded hardwood for the finish application process.

To dial it down, a subtle sheen of water is sprayed on the raw wood with a pump up sprayer commonly found at a hardware store. This does two things, first it reveals improprieties or blemishes remaining in the sanding not visible to the naked eye. It also opens the grain of the wood so it accepts the stain more thoroughly. Consider this a refined last step the re-finisher does to assure and achieve the best superior sanding perfection possible!

Conversely, this extra degree of care- added step is routinely blown off and ignored by the riff-raff re-finishers who dilute and disgrace this highly skilled, yet barely rewarded and recognized craft. (find out more about how to avoid getting your floors sanded, you might as well say by woody-wood pecker.)

The Staining Process (optional)

As one considers whether a stain is desired, there are a few things to know. First, not all wood is stain-able. Some, in fact don’t accept stain. This means the stain will not bond evenly, instead it will appear blotchy and inconsistent. Certain woods, right out of the gate are not encouraged to be stained. Among others, these woods include but are not limited to pine, heart pine, maple, and more. Although with some advanced “tweaking” some professionals may offer staining of these floors, most do not. And, if they do, it may even be with releases signed and usually for an additional cost.

Now for most, the popular oak floor is wonderfully stain-able! Other wood species are as well, in example, Brazilian Cherry. (not sure what wood species you have, we will gladly inspect it and identify it for you, and tell you what options are available to you.)

PS. Regarding stain vs natural finishing: There is added time needed to stain the floor, and therefore the project time is extended. Some times for speed and completion purposes folks may elect to go natural. Also, for darker stain initiatives, additional sanding may be required, and on a case by case basis, additional costs may become necessary. While in general we do not charge extra for additional sanding, there may be an isolated instance where the prep time will be excessive, that we reserve the right to include that in our cost application.

Choosing A Stain

Excitedly many homeowners endeavor the sanding and refinishing process merely because they want a different color stained floor. Indeed, this is probably one of the most important parts of the process for the homeowner. Often we are called to a project just because the homeowners, or homeowner (wife, usually) wants a different look. And yes, to get it, most times the floor needs to be “taken” completely down in order to do so. Also, along that line, there are plenty of times the husband if fine with the floors, but the wife feels outspoken, and quite differently. Guys, as you know- “if momma ‘ain’t’ happy, ‘ain’t’ nobody happy, or “Happy Wife. Happy Life!” (and, often who do we have to thank but all those wonderful DIY shows, to boot!)

Anyway, back to the art of choosing and applying the stain. To begin with, we prefer and offer a collection of stain colors, both “stock” and custom, by Dura Seal, whose parent company is Min Wax. Most homeowners recognize the Min Wax Brand, commonly found on hardware and box store shelves.

Just a quick note about Min Wax vs Dura Seal, or other professional formulation. Min Wax, which is marketed across the board is a slower drying-curing formula. To explain further, the slower curing time allows for a lesser skilled applicator time to adjust and repair blemishes before it dries (hint: by Mr Homeowner, DIY’er.) For this purpose there is plenty of repair opportunity “window.” Good news is, there is more time to fix boo-boo’s. Bad news is, there is a slower time that slows down the professional re-finisher (days- not hours.)

With that said, we encourage the Dura Seal collection whenever possible, mostly for ease of process. Delightedly the Dura Seal line has many cross-over colors that parallel the Min Wax color wheel, but not all. Therefore, we prefer our clients focus on the Dura Seal color wheel. It truly makes the process less complicated. Additionally, besides the stock color choices available in the Dura Seal line, there are several custom colors available at no additional charge.

What do we mean by custom? Well, there is an entire plethora of choices offered that are blends of the stock colors. The choices are available in the Dura Seal brochure, and are recipes of the stock colors. So, if one custom color is preferred, the professional can refer to and create the color using the recipe chart which provides the ratio of base color ingredients. And, because this is done easily, the options are offered, although “custom,” with no additional charge.

However, if color match to existing requires experimenting, and a building technique, involving not only matching, but aging, extra costs (due to extra time) may come in to play.

Unfortunately, it goes without saying, that color selection, approval, acceptance and rejection is by far the biggest possible disconnect in the entire process. And, for professionals at the top of their craft, every attempt will be done so the color is not only approved, but sealed with approval.

Stain Samples

We are pretty insistent that our clients are absolutely involved in the stain selection and approval process. This begins with a small color selection chart, or a 3 panel color tri-fold, which gets the process started. After encouraging a few choices we take the color selection to the next level- providing samples directly on the floor for our clients to evaluate- on their raw wood, with their walls, their ceiling and window structure, interior lighting, and exterior lighting, along with persuasion from their decor, cabinetry and adjacent woodwork. This minimizes mistakes or influence from a small, glossy paper swatch, for one thing. It also allows time for the color to be evaluated with all lighting impact, day and night, natural and man made influenced.

Once the stain has been selected, the customer signs paperwork and accepts the color. Therefore, every is clear as to the color. It happens, but rarely, there can be a disconnect with the color. To help further solidify approval, the customer is encouraged to view the stained floor. Should there be discrepancies, again it is rare, there may be a little wiggle room. By wiggle room, some times there can be some refining and feathering which does the trick (often at no additional charge, but rest in mind it could. Also, bear in mind this can slow the entire project down, and we the contractor will not be held responsible.)

If it is an absolute rejection, despite signed approval, the customer can elect for color change. This, however, is absolutely done at an extra cost to the homeowner (and for us has never happened given nearly 10 years in doing this.)

As if all this is enough work, now it’s showtime! Drum roll please…!

Discover the truly “Green-Clean Water Based Hardwood Floor Refinishing System” Gorgeous, Beautiful, Resilient Lasting Finish Without (NONE) Harmful Chemicals!
Vermont Natural Coatings PolyWhey
Clean Water Based Finish, Poly Whey Finish

PolyWhey, an innovative wood finish technology harnesses the power of whey protein, a by-product of cheese making, to deliver a durable, beautiful finish that has established the industry’s highest performance and environmental standards.

Innovative technology, PolyWhey uses whey proteins instead of toxic ingredients found in traditional wood finish. The result is lasting, beautiful finish that is safe for people, pets and the environment.

Harsh toxic, some carcinogenic chemicals are common in solvent finishes, and can be harmful to anyone exposed to them, and harmful to pregnant women and developing fetuses

Very popular solvent based finishes have a variety of harmful ingredients including formaldehyde, methyl-2-pyrrolidon, ethylhexanocid acid, ethylbenzene, and isocyanate, of which some are known to be contributors to female infertility and fetal brain damage. As well, isocyanate as a catalyst, is so toxic approx 11-14% of applicators react physically and cannot work with it.

Early in our wood refinishing endeavor we experienced adverse chemical reactions and abruptly abandoned using them, thinking there has to be a Better Whey (read below!)

Chris, our owner, experienced multiple scary, physical reactions, including violent throat closing, swelling, even eye popping reactions- three times should have been the charm, the fourth time- that was it! That experience scarily landed him in the emergency room, where the diagnosis was chemical intoxication causing delirious sight distortion despite using personal protective equipment including a Tyvek suit, respiration and goggles!

Now We Proudly Use A Safe, Environmentally Friendly, Low VOC Hardwood Floor Finish- The “Better Whey” To Refinish Hardwood Floors!

Having learned that scary lesson, we at Sparkle Surface Care have embraced the Poly Whey technology that is clean water safe, NMP Free, certified bio-based and now CDPh Compliant. And, it just so happens to perform brilliantly once applied!

For our clients, it is safer for your family, children and pets once applied, and safer for re-finishers and folks on site while the finishing is taking place.

To learn more about Poly Whey and how the cows, together with modern science, offer a sustainable finish that performs beyond normal standards without nasty harmful chemicals visit https://youtu.be/UROKV4_6Ukg

This breakthrough technology gives us the opportunity to restore your floors without bringing harsh chemicals and strong VOC smells into your home and helps set us apart from our competitors (many of whom, sadly, are clueless about whether the chemicals they bring into your home are actually safe). Make no mistake, though—we are in no way trading safety for effectiveness. This is an outstanding finishing system that is hard, durable, and stands up to in a demanding commercial setting, so it is certainly up to the task for residential, family use. In fact, it is successfully used in restaurants & bars, where it takes an even more serious beating than you, rover, and the kids can dish out!

Please note: This is a service for “surface-finish-floors” only. Meaning the floor’s original finish is applied only to the top of the wood and does not penetrate deeply. Because of ease of care, more than 90% of wood floors on today’s market use a surface finish. We have other services available for floors with penetrating finishes.

Team Sparkle’ your best choice for the safest, most beautiful hardwood floor refinishing project done by a friendly crew committed to making it as easy and pleasant as possible.

Hopefully you see how committed we are to delivering safe, quality craftsmanship, with a smile on our face! And hopefully, after reading about how we do things you agree we are really passionate about our work, and excellent customer service. And if we are talking about the raw, uncovered truth, we know this is exactly what our clients want, and hope for.

Sadly, most of our competition doesn’t get that message. We therefore, think we leave them in the…well, should we say–chemical-dust! Time and again we come up against old” school contractor types (our apologies to the other good folks who work dog hard like us) who may perform the work adequately (although prob not with green and safe methods.)

During what might be described as an alternative experience, clients may feel this other contractor experience may be less than pleasurable. At best they are personally invasive. Folks in this situation may often feel personally violated, disturbed, annoyed even impatient. And, for them they hold their breath to get the necessary evil experience over with, and the questionable characters out of their house.

Hardwood floor refinishing does not have to be this way! If your basic belief and desire is to have superior results executed safely, and in a pleasant manner, then you need to call us!

Is your wood floor dull, unsightly, or damaged? If you are in the South Jersey or any of the other areas we service and your wood floor needs some professional attention, CONTACT US online or call (609) 953-0472 for a free estimate. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Our Clients Say It Best...

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We are absolutely thrilled with the work you did to get our home ready to move it.  Beyond thrilled! Thank you for sending me the MSDS sheets of all the...

Herb & Sheila Weiner

I have worked with and referred the Sparkle Surface Care Team for years for all kinds of cleaning and refinishing projects. There really is a difference in their work and...

Rosalie Conaty

You guys are great, you come on time, nice people, do a great job, my floors look terrific, you bring roses, I tell everyone about you and will use you...

Suzanne DeGaetano

As an Interior Designer, I need a reliable one stop shop for my clients’ specialty surface protection and cleaning needs, and I am always pleased to refer Team Sparkle. One...

Kristen Benavides

I am giving you a hint to check this award winning and highly regarded company, located right here in Medford. Coming from  a family business in South Jersey whose reputation...

Kathy Healey

This is one of the best contractor experiences I’ve had in my long career in construction. From wearing booties when he arrived at our house, to pricing the job, to...

J. Robert Hillier

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