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Sanding a wood floor is a multi-step process. Determine your grit sequence. Sand all main field areas with the drum sander on the first grit of your determined sequence. Use the edger (using the same grit you just used on the drum) to sand all the areas that the drum couldn’t reach. Sweep or vacuum all sanded rooms.
How do you sand and stain new hardwood floors?
Prepare the Floor for Refinishing. Take the following steps before wood floor refinishing. Pull Up the Shoe Base Moulding. Rough-Sand the Floor. Sand the Edges and Corners. Screen Sand the Floor. Remove All Dust. Apply the Wood Stain. Apply the Finish.
Can I sand my floors myself?
Sanding wood floors is a time consuming but relatively easy procedure. Sanding wood floors & refinishing yourself will definitely save money, and even an inexperienced homeowner can likely do a better job than the lowest bidding handyperson who quotes on it.
Can I sand wood floors with a hand sander?
The palm sander is definitely the most common tool for sanding a wooden floor by hand. Use it with a coarser sandpaper grit for a lot of efficiency and quick results. Palm sanders also have a square edge, which means you can sand right into the corners of the floor.
What grit sandpaper do you use to sand hardwood floors?
Start with 36-grit sandpaper for a floor that hasn’t been sanded in a long time or that has a lot of heavy finish on it. Floors that have been painted may even require you to go tougher and use 24 or 16-grit paper. Maple floors are so hard that they often require 36-grit sandpaper as well.
Do new hardwood floors need to be sanded?
Yes. When you want to stain or change the color of your hardwood floors, you MUST fully sand and refinish the floors. If you don’t sand the floors first, the stain won’t properly penetrate the hardwood nor will the polyurethane properly adhere. This is the ONLY way to change the color of your hardwood floors.
Can you use an orbital sander on hardwood floors?
Random orbital sanders are the best choice for do-it-yourself hardwood floor refinishing. They take longer to remove old finishes than drum sanders, but they do not require a lot of experience to use and are less likely to damage your wood floor. Just be sure to keep the sander level at all times.
Can I stain hardwood floors without sanding?
The best way to refinish wood floors without sanding is to use a technique called screen and recoat. This involves scuffing up the finish with a floor buffer and applying a refresher coat of finish. The former is a proven floor restoration method, while the latter is the “Hail Mary” pass of floor care.
What is the cheapest way to refinish hardwood floors?
Applying a revitalizer gloss is the simplest and cheapest way to refinish hardwood floors. This approach works best on floors that only have surface-level scratches and other minor wear and tear issues. You can get the job done without the need for equipment rentals or hard-to-find materials.
Do you sand hardwood floors after staining?
Sanding may be the single most critical step in the process; it largely determines the quality of the end result. If you don’t sand the floor carefully and deliberately, that’s going to show once the stain dries.
Should you wash floor before sanding?
Removing dust from baseboards and windowsills will prevent accidental showers of sanding dust getting knocked onto the floor while you’re coating it with finish. Take a shower, or at least shake yourself off well before you continue; this will keep the dust from your hair and clothing out of the wet finish.
Do you need to strip floor before sanding?
We recommend that you at least attempt to remove some of it before you sand, but don’t bother trying adhesive remover (sanding is cheaper than that). But if this is your only hope for removing the adhesive, we can sand out the damage the water may cause.
How many sanding sheets does it take to sand a floor?
How long does it take to sand a floor? It’s hard to say without knowing the size and condition of your flooring. But with the right tools (like a drum sander and edger), you should do three sanding passes in an average-sized living room or bedroom in a day.
How long does it take to sand a floor with a floor sander?
So how long does it take to sand a floor? If you’re using both the electric sander and the edger in 140 square-foot floor space, it will take you roughly 5 hours to do three sanding passes. Another thing you must take into account is how old your house is.
How long does it take to sand a floor with an orbital sander?
How long does it take to sand a floor with an orbital sander? Unless your floor is in flat and in very good condition, an orbital sander is going to increase your refinishing time but 2-3 times. Let’s say 2-4 days per room as opposed to 1-2 days with a full sanding kit. For handheld orbitals, double that again.
