The Best Way to Refinish a Hardwood Floor

You finish a hardwood floor by applying wood stain to it, which soaks into the wood to highlight the grain, and then seal it with some type of gloss material (varnish was once the standard; now it's polyurethane). Re-finishing the floor is the same process as the original finishing, except you have to remove the original finish. A rented drum sander will strip it down to bare wood, with progressively finer levels of sandpaper making it smooth and flat for the new finish.

Things You'll Need

• Rented drum sander
• Drum sander paper in grit levels of 36, 60, 100 and 120
• Vacuum
• Rubber gloves
• Liquid stain
• Paint brush
• Paper towels
• Polyurethane
• Wide floor applicator for polyurethane
• 220-grit sandpaper

Instructions

1. Load your drum sander with 36-grit paper (the roughest) and sand off the top layer of the finish. Run the sander diagonally across the direction of the floorboards, taking up all the gloss and shine. Vacuum the dust.

2. Switch out your 36-grit sandpaper for 60-grit, and repeat the sanding process. This time, go in the opposite diagonal direction and get up all the stain so that the wood is exposed. Vacuum the dust.

3. Continue sanding with the two progressively finer levels of sandpaper, sanding in the direction of the planks. Vacuum thoroughly. The resulting surface should be smooth, flat, bare wood.

4. Put on your rubber gloves. Use your brush to apply wood stain on the bare floor, starting in the corner of the floor furthest from the entrance. Spread the stain heavily in sections of about 4 square feet, letting it pool and absorb for a moment, then wipe up the excess stain with paper towels. Do the whole floor. Let it set over night.

5. Pour a puddle of polyurethane on the floor, starting at the same side as before. Set the applicator in the puddle. Pull it slowly backward, in the direction of the floorboards, spreading the polyurethane evenly. Add more polyurethane and continue spreading it, working in rows and doing the whole floor. Let it set over night.

6. Use 220-grit sandpaper (very fine) to buff the dried polyurethane by hand. Use short, quick strokes, with the direction of the boards, to dull the shine. Vacuum up the dust.

7. Spread a second layer of polyurethane using the same procedure as before. Let it dry, de-gloss it by hand and then apply a third coat. Let the third and final coat set for at least two days before using the floor.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear a dust mask during the sanding.

References

• PracticalDIY.com: Sanding a Floor.