Anyone ever sand and poly their hardwood floors

[BanginGears]

Am looking to do these hardwood floors over and I'm getting crazy high prices.
I'm sure I can do it myself.
Anyone do it themselves and care to let me know of its hard or any tricks to getting it right?
Oil based or water based also a concern.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Around here, that's a job that the Vietnamese do.

 

[Don Frelier]

I've done a few.
The last two times I used the water based stuff which certainly makes it easier but doesn't last as well.
I would recommend a pad sander (not a rotary) if you just need to remove a finish and you're inexperienced.
Vacuum, clean thoroughly with microfiber towels and water then a thinned down poly on a clean lint free cloth.
Buy an applicator to apply the finish and follow the manufacturers directions for sanding, cleaning up between coats.
It's pretty time consuming and a bit tiring.

 

[BanginGears]

I've done a few.
The last two times I used the water based stuff which certainly makes it easier but doesn't last as well.
I would recommend a pad sander (not a rotary) if you just need to remove a finish and you're inexperienced.
Vacuum, clean thoroughly with microfiber towels and water then a thinned down poly on a clean lint free cloth.
Buy an applicator to apply the finish and follow the manufacturers directions for sanding, cleaning up between coats.
It's pretty time consuming and a bit tiring.

Why a pad sander and not rotary sander?

I'm hoping they come with a bag for the dust.

 

[Don Frelier]

The pad sander won't dig in as much and leave big gouges when you get near a doorway or obstacle.
The rotary is reall for a new floor where you need to plane off the top surface and make it flat.
Yes I hooked it up to my shop vac but it's stll messy.

 

[SgtSuperbird]

It is a lot of work, but worth it (much cheaper). The areas that will wear you out are the corners, and along walls, since the machine doesn't get it all. You'll need a palm sander, or something similar. And always go with the grain.

I did a huge job on a house I flipped right after my retirement. I used water based. It certainly is easier to work with, but does not last. Go with oil. (The pictures are out of order.)

 

[Under Pressure]

Heres ours done last month, pad sander yes. This time we hired out, $1,900, with oil base
Did last house myself, I had no problems other than waiting on wife to pick the stain

 

[padam]

My wife and I did ours in the house we bought and rehabbed about 6 years ago.

It was a lot of work. The house was empty so that made it more practical, there will be dust!

We rented a big belt sander from home Depot. I would rent elsewhere if I did it again because I think hd is high if you need it for an extended time.
They dig in really easy, but the floors were in bad shape and needed a lot of standing.
Also rented a hand held sander to do edges, and used my multi tool for corners.

The house is almost 100 years old, and the floors had a lot of stains. I think they were poplar.
We stained them dark walnut, and we both really like the color. We both got pretty wasted on the fumes the first day we were staining, didn't think about respirators till after that (essential.)

We used Min Wax oil based, and what a headache! First tried a satin finish and it looked horrible. Like it would not flow out, very rough finish.

So I hand sander all the ******* floors on hands and knees, then recoated with the gloss product and they came out real nice.

It took forever to harden though, I'm talking two months they stayed soft enough to mark easily.

We still really like the floors though. I just would like to find better products if I did it again, but it may be that all paint products suck now because of the modern formulations.

We just redid another house and the interior paint just won't cover anything.

 

[Jesse6869]

Also did it myself rented larger sander just clean up dust really well. But easy enough and make sure you use long strokes but seriously.

 

[snakeoil24]

It is a lot of work, but worth it (much cheaper). The areas that will wear you out are the corners, and along walls, since the machine doesn't get it all. You'll need a palm sander, or something similar. And always go with the grain.

I did a huge job on a house I flipped right after my retirement. I used water based. It certainly is easier to work with, but does not last. Go with oil. (The pictures are out of order.)

View attachment 1269841 View attachment 1269842 View attachment 1269843 View attachment 1269844

Great look

 

[fewillys]

Have done many , just finished doing a re-coat on a 100 year old floor in a rental of mine . Surface prep is extremely important , Use a commercial pad sander and a small triangle shaped sander for edges and corners .Getting it smooth and not having any stains on the raw wood would be the first step . If you are wanting to stain the floor let the stain cure for 24 hours , even if the can says 4 hours . Water based poly is much easier to deal with than oil , but the lifespan in heavily traveled areas is less than half . I have used Varathane oil based , Home Depot Pro oil based with great results ..... stay away from Minwax ! Give yourself plenty of time - like 2 weeks . First oil coat , do 50% poly and 50% mineral spirits , next coats thin with 12-14 % mineral spirits . Let the 50/50 coat cure for 24 hours . second coat that is 14% mineral spirits let cure 48 hours , 3rd coat that is same ratio let cure fore 72 hours , 4th coat longer yet , the more coats the more curing between coats . Light sand between coats . Roll it out but have a brush ready for smoothing out . It needs to be very clean between coats whether oil or water based . Take your time . I learned from a guy that had done 1100 installations and finishes . Photo is my house after 2nd coat of oil , I put 7 coats on total .

 

[BanginGears]

Have done many , just finished doing a re-coat on a 100 year old floor in a rental of mine . Surface prep is extremely important , Use a commercial pad sander and a small triangle shaped sander for edges and corners .Getting it smooth and not having any stains on the raw wood would be the first step . If you are wanting to stain the floor let the stain cure for 24 hours , even if the can says 4 hours . Water based poly is much easier to deal with than oil , but the lifespan in heavily traveled areas is less than half . I have used Varathane oil based , Home Depot Pro oil based with great results ..... stay away from Minwax ! Give yourself plenty of time - like 2 weeks . First oil coat , do 50% poly and 50% mineral spirits , next coats thin with 12-14 % mineral spirits . Let the 50/50 coat cure for 24 hours . second coat that is 14% mineral spirits let cure 48 hours , 3rd coat that is same ratio let cure fore 72 hours , 4th coat longer yet , the more coats the more curing between coats . Light sand between coats . Roll it out but have a brush ready for smoothing out . It needs to be very clean between coats whether oil or water based . Take your time . I learned from a guy that had done 1100 installations and finishes . Photo is my house after 2nd coat of oil , I put 7 coats on total .View attachment 1269860

So the question is.
If I'm selling the house and need a quick gloss look but needs sanding, can I get away with 1 coat?
Oil base or water base. I don't want to spend huge time on this project.

 

[towtruckAl]

yes pad sander and hand sander for corners and any other awkward spots , then vacum the walls and the floor really good , and thin out the first coat as said above , I used commerical grade bolling alley finish with 3 coats . the finish looked the same 10 yrs on , but it is very strong , we stayed away 1 week after last coat .

 

[towtruckAl]

opps didnt see your last post

 

[joe smith]

My wife and I did ours in the house we bought and rehabbed about 6 years ago.

It was a lot of work. The house was empty so that made it more practical, there will be dust!

We rented a big belt sander from home Depot. I would rent elsewhere if I did it again because I think hd is high if you need it for an extended time.
They dig in really easy, but the floors were in bad shape and needed a lot of standing.
Also rented a hand held sander to do edges, and used my multi tool for corners.

The house is almost 100 years old, and the floors had a lot of stains. I think they were poplar.
We stained them dark walnut, and we both really like the color. We both got pretty wasted on the fumes the first day we were staining, didn't think about respirators till after that (essential.)

We used Min Wax oil based, and what a headache! First tried a satin finish and it looked horrible. Like it would not flow out, very rough finish.

So I hand sander all the ******* floors on hands and knees, then recoated with the gloss product and they came out real nice.

It took forever to harden though, I'm talking two months they stayed soft enough to mark easily.

What kind of floors were those?? I have never heard of that type of wood.... LOL

 

[padam]

IIRC it had a yellow or greenish tint. I just took a guess at poplar, but I am no wood worker.

 

[WileERobby]

It gets very tedious going back and forth on the wood.

 

[BanginGears]

Going to pick up a sander today. What's the deal with a drum sander? Any good?

 

[BB BELLA]

drum sander great for big area! have it moving when you lower it and lift it before you stop moving! I've installed maple basketball courts with a rider and I think it would be a tough go in a small room!
waterbase,pour it on pull it out! disk and damp mop between coats! It sounds so easy!

 

[BanginGears]

What's the best way to get in the corners and stairs. Just sanded almost the whole 1st floor with 30 grit and then 70 grit