Prefinished Hardwood re-sanding project
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Prefinished Hardwood re-sanding project
Hi All,
We have a large 400SqF room that has a pre-finished floor that is pretty scratched up with deep scratches all across, i'm guessing caused by moving furniture. We tried using markers, to no avail. Also tried sanding just the area around the scratch marks and staining and finishing them, but it's impossible to match the factory finish and stain.
So, finally decided to re-send all of the floors ourselves. Went to HD and were recommended to rent random disk sander... I watched videos about the drum sander all week long before going to HD, and I was a fool to listen to the HD worker that recommended the random disk sander. Anyways, after about45 minutes with random disc sander, i realized that i will take me a month to get the finish off, these boards have like 6 layers of poly on it. $68 wasted..
Anyway, went to the local rental store right away to get the drum sander and edger. First drum sander that they gave me broke 4 belts in 5 minutes and made a big gauge in one spot on the floor, good thing i started in a spot that will have a couch on top of it. I started to think that I was using the machine wrong, but after the 4th time I though that it could be the machine, went back to the rental shop and got another drum sander as a replacement.
Now, this thing was so much better, not a single time did the belt break and worked really well.
I was able to get the whole floor sanded with a 20 grit once, and since I did not have time ( the local rental store closes at 5) got about 2/3 of the floor sanded with 80 grit. Also sanded the corners and edges with 36 and 80 grit paper.
Now, the question i have is what should i do now? I have all of the finish off, but the floor has some spots sanded with 80 and some with 20 grit still. What is the cheapest and smart thing to do? I really do not want to rent out a drum sander again because i might get a bad one and make a gauge in the floor again.
Do you think if I get the random orbital sander and start say with 60 grit, then 80 and then 100 or 120, I should be able to get it to a state where i can stain and finish it. I want to get the sanding done in 1 day.
Thanks in advance for your help and sorry for long story..
We have a large 400SqF room that has a pre-finished floor that is pretty scratched up with deep scratches all across, i'm guessing caused by moving furniture. We tried using markers, to no avail. Also tried sanding just the area around the scratch marks and staining and finishing them, but it's impossible to match the factory finish and stain.
So, finally decided to re-send all of the floors ourselves. Went to HD and were recommended to rent random disk sander... I watched videos about the drum sander all week long before going to HD, and I was a fool to listen to the HD worker that recommended the random disk sander. Anyways, after about45 minutes with random disc sander, i realized that i will take me a month to get the finish off, these boards have like 6 layers of poly on it. $68 wasted..
Anyway, went to the local rental store right away to get the drum sander and edger. First drum sander that they gave me broke 4 belts in 5 minutes and made a big gauge in one spot on the floor, good thing i started in a spot that will have a couch on top of it. I started to think that I was using the machine wrong, but after the 4th time I though that it could be the machine, went back to the rental shop and got another drum sander as a replacement.
Now, this thing was so much better, not a single time did the belt break and worked really well.
I was able to get the whole floor sanded with a 20 grit once, and since I did not have time ( the local rental store closes at 5) got about 2/3 of the floor sanded with 80 grit. Also sanded the corners and edges with 36 and 80 grit paper.
Now, the question i have is what should i do now? I have all of the finish off, but the floor has some spots sanded with 80 and some with 20 grit still. What is the cheapest and smart thing to do? I really do not want to rent out a drum sander again because i might get a bad one and make a gauge in the floor again.
Do you think if I get the random orbital sander and start say with 60 grit, then 80 and then 100 or 120, I should be able to get it to a state where i can stain and finish it. I want to get the sanding done in 1 day.
Thanks in advance for your help and sorry for long story..
#2
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Welcome to the forums!
Actually the HD guy did give you decent advice as drum sanders aren't diy friendly. It would be fine to go back to the big disc sander. The main thing is to get rid of all the sanding scratches. Did the rental place give you any credit for your wasted time with the first drum sander?
Actually the HD guy did give you decent advice as drum sanders aren't diy friendly. It would be fine to go back to the big disc sander. The main thing is to get rid of all the sanding scratches. Did the rental place give you any credit for your wasted time with the first drum sander?
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Yeah, he didn't charge me anything for the first sander, the problem was he had to close at 5pm and i didnt want to keep the sander for another 2 days since they were close on sunday, which would have run me and extra $130.
I don't think disc sanders are a viable option for getting rid of prefinished poly, since there is just too much of it.
So which grid paper should i start with for disc sander? 60 -> 100 -> 120?
I don't think disc sanders are a viable option for getting rid of prefinished poly, since there is just too much of it.
So which grid paper should i start with for disc sander? 60 -> 100 -> 120?
#4
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A drum sander is always best - it's just that they can do more damage than good if used improperly
You might need the 60 grit where you didn't resand with the 80 grit but the rest of would be fine to start with the 100 grit and finish up with the 120. Do you plan to stain the floor? or give it a natural finish?
You might need the 60 grit where you didn't resand with the 80 grit but the rest of would be fine to start with the 100 grit and finish up with the 120. Do you plan to stain the floor? or give it a natural finish?
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Thanks mark
im planning to stain first and then finish.
How long can a floor be in this current state? i was reading that its not good to keeps it untreated for a while.
im planning to stain first and then finish.
How long can a floor be in this current state? i was reading that its not good to keeps it untreated for a while.
#6
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The more traffic the floor sees unfinished, the more it will need resanding. Generally it's best to limit traffic after the the final sanding until the stain and 1st coat of poly have been applied. The darker the stain, the more important it will be to not have any sanding scratches. The stain can highlight any scratches in the wood, especially if they are across the grain. Light stains and natural finish are a little more forgiving.
Another thing to consider if it will be awhile before you complete the project, raw wood will suck up any liquid that gets split on it and dirt can be ground into the raw wood....... but a little bit of care and common sense goes a long way
Another thing to consider if it will be awhile before you complete the project, raw wood will suck up any liquid that gets split on it and dirt can be ground into the raw wood....... but a little bit of care and common sense goes a long way