While it is certainly possible to clean these floors with your Challenger, I'm not sure what you mean by buffing them up. In days of old, a paste wax was often the sealant of choice for wood floors. It could be buffed into a nice shine until it wore away, at which time you simply applied more, buffed it up, etc. Polyurethanes, and the types of acrylic finishes that you have been applying, don't buff like paste wax. They are what they are. You certainly could first clean these floors (Challenger's Double Pads would be better than their thinner ones); then, with either a maroon pad, or a fine grit (around 150) sanding screen, you would next etch the very top finish of the floor; then apply a fresh coat of polyurethane. Water-based urethane will be dry enough for walking on within a couple of hours; an oil-based product will require overnight drying. 24 hours is best with oil. You have probably been simply covering up dirt in many layers as you have been applying your finish product up to now, so these floors would look their best with a complete sanding. Don't try to do this with a Challenger. It will take too long, and there is no way to capture the dust. Locate a wood floor refinishing professional who has invested in so-called "dustless sanding" equipment for this type of a job.
The laminator-type of floor coating products that I have looked at are not of the same quality as the polyurethanes
normally associated with wood floor refinishing, whether in the area of full sanding or recoating. Where a poly is intended to provide a durable finish for several years, laminator products normally state (in small print) that they are intended to last up to 6 or 12 months. There is a store-available product called Quick Shine that is comparable to the laminator products. (www.hollowayhouse.net)
