How to refurbish old hardwood floors

Sometimes you have hardwood floors that aren't in that bad of condition where you have to rent a floor sander to completely strip them to bare wood, as in this case. After we pulled up the carpet there were a few stains from spills and some surface scratches. This is an easy fix. Floor sanders are expensive to rent, heavy and hard to use if you don't know what you're doing. You only need to rent a floor sander if your floors are in very bad condition.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• hand corner sander
• Pole sander
• 100 grit sandpaper
• 120 grit sandpaper
• respirator

1. Sweep and mop floor thoroughly to remove any abrasives that may damage the floor further.

2. Use the 100 grit sandpaper first to remove the polyurethane top coat from the floor. Sand the entire floor including the corners.

3. Then use the 120 grit sandpaper to remove surface scratches from the previous sanding, again sanding the entire floor including corners.

4. When you are finished sanding, sweep and mop the floor to remove all sawdust. (You may want to mop it twice). Let dry thoroughly. This usually takes about three or four hours.

5. After the floor dries. Using a good quality brush apply a thin coat of polyurethane and let dry approximately twelve hours (in high humidity you may have to let it dry twenty-four hours to obtain a good bond).

6. 
    

   After the first coat dries you will want to apply two more coats to your floor the same as the first. After the last coat let the floor dry approximately forty-eight hours before replacing furnture. For faster applications you may use a 3/8" nap paint roller to apply the polyurethane, but you still have to brush it out as you apply it so that you will not have air bubbles in your floor after it dries.

Tips & Warnings

• This is an excellent way to save time and money, especially on rental properties or homes you are getting ready to sell
• This finish will also last for years
• Always wear a respirator when using paints or chemicals.

Resources

• pet urine neutralizer

[fitzcents]

on 8/13/2009 Good advice. Proper sanding of hardwood floors can be accomplished with the proper circular sander. The motion you should keep as you work your way around the room is 'with the grain'. Do not walk across the grain while sanding with a circular sander. It does make a difference. 5*

[djackman]

on 4/26/2009 nice information on refurbishing hardwood floors thanks 5*

[Susanh]

on 1/23/2009 Good instructions! 5*****

[Willxiv]

on 9/2/2008 Is there a trick to sanding parque hardwood floors(the flooring is composed of shorter wood boards, set in small patterns by which the boards are at right angles with each other)?

All the how-to's I've read so far (and it has been many) have only mentioned "sanding with the grain" while using rented power tools. Sanding with the grain on parque floors (unless you're using a small hand tool) is quite impossible since half tightly-patterned boards are perpendicular to the other half.

What's the secret?

I've frustrated myself googling the topic - to no avail.

[archip99]

on 8/23/2008 My dad loves your advices and will try out. Keep it up!