Wood Floor Sanding plz help


  #1  
Old 04-02-06, 12:43 PM
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Wood Floor Sanding plz help

Hello,

I have recently moved into an old house and repainted it and basically redid the whole interior. I was going to sand the wood floors and refinish them this weekened. So I went to taylor rental and asked them which sander to use on hardwood floors and how much it would cost. They ended up renting me a American Sanders obs 18 orbital sander as well as some 80 grade paper for the bottom. SO, I go home and I started to do my bedroom floor. I made one pass over the entire room going with the grain and it barely even took off the old finishing and it looked horrible, absolutely horrible, patchy and it just did not seem to be working correctly. Also the bag on the thing had 3-4 holes in it so there was no cleanup and sawdust all over the damn place. So I thought to myself I need a coarser type of paper right. So I drive 30 mins back to taylor rental and switched out the 80 for 60 grade paper. Also with little to no results. Then I look on the pad where you put the paper and half of the pad was completely worn. So at that point I thought to myself that the machine is broken and not working and wanted my money back so I can go somewhere else and get another sander. So I call the guy up at taylor rental and tell him I need a refund because the machine isnt working and he tells me that there is nothing wrong with it. SO, I go back to taylor rental and buy a bunch of 36 grade paper, he tells me its so course it will tear up my floors. So I start to sand with the 36 and yet again with little to no results, it is still seriously horrible and patchy also it hasnt even taken up some of the old finish, alot of it. Then I look online and it says that orbital sanders are for before you put finish on the floors and for pool decks. Am I using the right sander for the job?? Anyone know whats going on? I am pretty sure that he rented me the wrong sander for the job or the pad being worn down has made the sander unusable. I have tried everything to get this to work. I have made 4 passes over my office and bedroom floor with 36 grade paper and then 80 grade and it looks like absolute crap, half of it isnt even sanded and still has old finish on it. I also called around to lowes and several other places and they said they havent ever even heard of the sandpaper size I need.

Can anyone help me figure out why this thing isnt working, or let me know if it is the wrong sander for the job? I have wasted my whole weekend trying to do this with no avail.

If you need I can post some before and after shots. But I am pretty sure that an orbital sander is not the right sander for the job or it is just plain broken. please let me know whats going on.
 
  #2  
Old 04-02-06, 12:57 PM
B
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Great Barrington MA
Posts: 496
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
You probably wanted a drum sander for that job. In any case if you have a finished floor the old finish will gum up the sander quickly. As a professional in other areas (i.e. have laid many a hardwood floor) I do not do the finishing and always sub it out. Floor sanding is skilled work and it very easy to do major damage to it if you don't know what your doing. I don't want to sound discouraging but might be a good idea to get a pro before you do serious damage.
 
  #3  
Old 04-02-06, 01:12 PM
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Well buildpro, I am after all on doityourself.com, so obviously I cannot afford to have a pro do the job. I just want some answers to some simple questions. Do I probably want a drum sander or do I for sure. Also I need to find out if an orbital sander with the problems the one I rented is the wong kind for the job because I need to get my money back. i don't think sanding the floors is too hard really, I just need the right tool for the job and need someone that knows what they are talking about to let me know if the orbital sander I have is the wrong one for the job and or if the problem is because the pad on the bottom is worn.

Please there has got to be someone out there who knows sanding, and can help me.
 
  #4  
Old 04-02-06, 01:28 PM
B
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Great Barrington MA
Posts: 496
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
there are 3 main types of sanders in floor sanding. The orbital sander that you already tried looks like a buffer, the drum sander which is very heavy and takes off serious wood and then there is the edging sander that you do around the perimiter with. You might try the drum sander only other one for big areas that I know of. Good Luck!
 
  #5  
Old 04-02-06, 01:41 PM
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I knew there was something wrong, and I knew this orbital sander wasn't right, I went back to get different sand paper 3 times. Then I was reading an article and it said orbital sander is for pre finishing the floors. But the guy tried to insist I was doing something wrong. I asked them which kind I need for old hardwood floors, which is obviously going to need to take off a ton of wood and finish and they gave me that, I will be getting my money back and rerenting a drum sander. As far as ruining the floors I am not worried, the floors are probably 30-50 years old and the guy who lived here before me processed honey in the house lol they are gross right now. If anyone else knows anything about orbital sanders and if they are used to sand floors or finish them and if they are not for what I am doing please let me know.
 
  #6  
Old 04-02-06, 03:46 PM
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 4,857
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
The 80 grit is where your problem lies!!


Start off with 36 or 40 grit. Then swithch to 60 grit, then to 80 grit. 80 grit is usually the last grit if staining, unless you want to go to 100, and do an unstained natural finish.

Drum sanders are not DIY friendly at all. You can ruin your wood floors easy with it, where wood replacement is needed.

U-sand, Trio, and Bumble Bee are multiple head orbiting sanders, that are DIY friendly. They take a little longer, but the chances of you ruining your floor are slim to none.
 
  #7  
Old 04-02-06, 05:10 PM
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 6
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
the one that I used is an orbital american sanders obs 18, I used 36, then 60 then 80 and all it did was take off some of the finish, it looks horrible. Is it because it is not a good type or because it is the wrong type of sander, or because it is not multiple head? I made about 3 passes over the entire floor with the 36 and it didnt do much at all then i used the 80 and it still loked the same. Also the pad on the bottom of the sander is worn down completely on the bottom half maybe that is my problem?
 
  #8  
Old 04-02-06, 10:02 PM
D
Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
We just went thru this,and ended up sanding with a hand belt sander, after renting an orbital and going thru way too many sanding pads, next room, will start with a belt sander and finish with the same, just different grits of paper. People at the rental shops have probably never even seen a wood floor, let alone try to refinish one, without ruining the wood. Good luck,if we can do it, you can too!!!
 
  #9  
Old 04-03-06, 04:49 AM
JPicasso's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: USA
Posts: 310
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
When I redid our old bedroom, I rented the orbital sander that is also referred to a buff sander. It has a large footpad that vibrates. As another DIY site (that I can't recall) said, the "buff" part actually referrs to something that should be used to apply ladies makup.

It took me 8 full hours of sanding with 60, 80, and finally 100 grit to finish the room. 8 Hours with the machine on the floor, buffing.
However, when I was done, it was purdy, and there were no gouges or nasty scratches when I was done.

My floor was 40 years old, but very flat, so all I needed to do was to remove the finish, I did not have to remove any wood. If you are using the buff sander on a floor that is a little wavy or has stains you want to remove, plan on renting for the entire weekend. Or, take your chances with a more aggressive belt sander. Or, even better, try and locate a multiple head orbital sander. The new ones like this, have 3 or 4 rotating discs that are somewhere inbetween the aggressiveness of the belt and buff sanders.

Hope this helps a bit.
 
  #10  
Old 04-03-06, 10:08 AM
G
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 16
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I recently sanded one room of my house in which the 1950s hardwoods had been covered by carpet. Read all I could online about refinishing floors and then rented from Home Depot.

Drum sander: rents for about $50 per day, plus accessories. Did one run with 24 grit (took off ALL the old finish) then a run with 80 and one final run with 100. True - this machine can do damage if you're not used to using heavy equipement, but I practiced on a piece of plywood and had no problem (save for a few small ripples here and there). You've gotta keep this beast moving CONSTANTLY when the sandpaper is in contact with the wood.

Edge sander: rents for about $25 per day. Same order of grit (24, 80, 100) to sand near walls (drum only lets you get within 6-8 inches of walls). After each run with the drum, you've got to do a run with the edger to keep the entire floor consistent. I actually found this small (but heavy) sander harder to use than the drum sander. Clumsy and leaves scuff marks unless you're very good.

Overall, a pretty rough day of sanding. But very cost efficient. I haven't stained and sealed yet, so don't know end result.

Good luck.
 
  #11  
Old 04-03-06, 10:46 AM
loreyna's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 92
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I know this will sound insane and people will likely yel NO NO NO. We had the same problem. Patchy terrible job so ... what we did was we had the kids sit on the sander to push it into the floor more. The job was spectacular!! This might be the worst advice in the world but it worked for us
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: