I hope this helps others in the same dire straits :) My house was built in 1926 and when I moved in about 15 years ago the sellers had covered the hardwood hallways and stairs with this ugly olive drab carpet but since it wasn't in bad shape I worked on other projects first. Finally down to this project I spent a hot Sunday afternoon ripping up the carpet, pad and tack strip only to be left with what I can only describe is black ugly rubbery tufts left on the floor. The expense of having someone else refinish it was out of the question so I went thru more attempts than I care to think about before I found a suggestion that I hadn't tried yet...Orange Goop or Fast Orange hand cleaners. I couldn't find Orange Goop in my area so bought a tub of Original Goop and a bottle of Fast Orange. I was absolutely amazed at the results! I tried both to see if one was easier than the other but they both performed the same, Original Goop took a tiny bit more elbow grease and since I love the orange scent I am going for the Fast Orange to finish the project. I bought rolls of mechanics paper towels since they are a bit stronger and used a plastic putty knife to spread it over an area then simply a bit of elbow grease and the stuff was gone! In the pictures you can see the dramatic change. I won't be resanding, there is one small spot that is dark, I am assuming from an animal that lived there previously but if I refinish those areas I would have to do the entire house in order for it all to match and that brand new look isn't what I like anyway. I will be using Bona on it like I do in the rest of the house, love that stuff too :).