Restoring dull floors, cabinets takes buffing or revarnishing

Q. I have two questions, both relating to ''refreshing/renewing/restoring etc." wood surfaces.

1. How would you best restore the shine to a parquet floor? The parquet in my foyer is in perfect condition as far as no scratches, dents, etc., but it is not as shiny as it was. Is there some way to brighten it up?

2. What is the best way to refresh custom oak kitchen cabinets? Again, the cabinets are in perfect condition, but I would like to refresh or perk them up a bit. I read somewhere that there was a glaze of some kind that would work well. Are you familiar with anything like that?

P.L.H., Virginia Beach, Va.
A. Most floors and kitchen cabinets are varnished with polyurethane of one kind or another. Varnish looks good for a long time, but will become dull over the years. Try this for the parquet floor and the cabinets: Buff with a dry cloth or use a buffing machine, which might restore the shine. If it doesn't, sand lightly and apply one thin coat of a high-gloss or semigloss oil-based polyurethane varnish. I mentioned oil-based because I must assume the floor and cabinets are relatively old and were treated with oil-based polyurethane, and only oil-based polyurethane is compatible with other oil-based polyurethane. If you used water-based polyurethane as the new coat, it would probably peel off quickly.

Sanding is required to reduce any remaining gloss and roughen the finish so that the new finish will stick. In fact, after sanding the cabinets, wash with a strong solution of Spic and Span and water.

The glaze you mentioned is probably oil-based polyurethane varnish.

When taking off asbestos tiles in my basement, I discovered a black adhesive under the tile. I plan to put down ceramic tile, but I am wondering how to take up the mastic. Will ceramic tile go over it?

J.B., Milton
A. Yes it will, but you have to get as much of the mastic off as practicable. How to do it: Wet it down with paint thinner, which will dissolve part of it and make it easier to scrape off. If a fair amount is left, that should be OK. Put down the tile with a thin-set mortar.

Q. I had several big, sturdy foam coolers at my house when the storm hit, and the mice ate holes in them. Also, some broke when ice filled them. Can they be patched?

Things are improving in my part of New Orleans. My house is above sea level and escaped flooding and all but a little damage. I lost a couple of tiles off the roof, but that was it; the Army gave me quite a few MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). They were pretty good.

SHIRLEY BYRD, New Orleans
A. Thank you, Shirley, for a short and sweet story of survival. But the coolers are a total loss. And I am sure the MREs were a darned sight better than the C Rations I got in Korea back in 1951.

About those foam cushions
When Walter Martin of Dorchester asked where to get foam cushion material for his parlor club chair, the Handyman suggested an upholstery shop, but Martin said several he contacted would not sell him the foam.

Keep trying, said the Handyman, never thinking that foam material for cushions and beds are widely available from fabric shops.

And that is what eight e-mailers and chat denizens told the Handyman. All those hits suggested fabric shops, and the Handyman can only say thanks, why didn't I think of that. At least those eight hits show the power of communication.

Q. I stripped an old headboard of its shellac, using alcohol, and it looks quite nice, ready for a new coat of shellac. One thing, though: There is a wood applique in the center of the headboard, also stripped of all its shellac. One side of the applique is darker than the other, at least darker in spots. I tried sanding the spots without success. How can I even out all that difference in color?

PEGGY CHALMERS,Sunapee, N.H.
A. The wood might be different in different parts of the applique. Try bleaching the entire applique with straight household bleach. If that evens out the color, rinse off the bleach before finishing it. If that does not work, try this (which you can do even before trying the bleach): stain the entire applique with a penetrating oil stain. This may be your best chance to even out the color, but be careful; once a stain hits the wood, it cannot be removed except by sanding, and sanding the curved sections of that applique is a chore I would not wish on my worst enemy.

One other idea: That applique is nailed and glued to the headboard, I think. You could soften the glue with water and pry off the applique. That way you can work on it without messing up the rest of the headboard. It will be easy to reglue and renail the applique in the same position.

Q. I have installed through-the-wall air conditioners in three bedrooms, and they work nicely. I don't want to take them down in the winter, and was wondering how to insulate them both inside and out during cold weather.

LUCAS WOLF, Ipswich
A. Stores carry many kinds of weatherproof insulated covers for the outside of the units. On the inside, if you cannot find a cover, make a box frame big enough and deep enough to clear the unit.

Then nail a Styrofoam cover on the box, fit the box over the unit, and caulk it in place. You must cover the Styrofoam with plasterboard or other fire-resistant material.

Q. My sunroom has a regular poured concrete foundation with a pressure-treated 2-by-6 sill. The slab was concrete poured on a bed of sand, the concrete up to the level of the sill. Walls cover the sill in most places, but where sliders were installed, 3 inches of the sill were exposed. Ceramic tiles were then put on the concrete, and the exposed sill. Well, part of the sand bed settled just 1/4 inch, dropping the concrete and cracking the tiles. How can I install two new tiles without their cracking again? The space near the dropped concrete is allowing tiny bugs to come up. They are extremely small. How can I stop them?

JIM NOYES, West Newbury
A. Take up the tiles and put floor-leveling compound or mortar on the dropped concrete to line up with the sill. Let cure two or three days and install the new tiles with thin-set mortar. Before doing the repair, pour straight household bleach into the crack where the bugs are coming up.

Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats online 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to Boston.com. Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com.