How to Refinish a Hardwood Floor
Hardwood floors demand attention once in a while when they start loosing their luster and appear dull. If you are a home owner who wants to restore the glory of the hardwood floor, refinishing is the best alternative available. You can of course hire some one to do the work for you. But if you have a day off and do not mind some rewarding hard work that saves money, you can do the task yourself. The process involves removing the top layer of old finish and then refinishing it again.Our step by step guide has the entire process for you below.
Things you need:
– floor buffer or sander
– vacuum cleaner
– polyurethane
Instructions
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1
Sand paper or buffer:
If the scratches do not go deep down the wood, you can easily do with a scuff sand done with a floor buffer. For scratches that are deep and for a very rough floor, you will have to use sand paper to remove the top layer of wood. Using a floor buffer is easier, less time consuming and inexpensive. In this guide, we are using a floor buffer and those who want to use Sand paper read step 5.
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2
Floor buffer:
Rent a floor buffer. Attach the heavy screening pad to it and start moving it over the floor, in the direction of the grain. This will remove the top layer of the old finish. Once you have covered the entire floor, use a vacuum to clear up the powder.
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3
Repeat process:
Attach medium screening pad to the floor buffer and cover the floor again. Vacuum again.
Repeat again with a fine screening pad to get perfectly smooth surface. Vacuum the whole room now to clear away the powder and dust. -
4
Finish:
Use a paintbrush top apply a thin layer of polyurethane over the wood slowly. Keep the direction along the grain. Let this coat dry for six hours. Once dry, sand off the wood with fine sandpaper to dull the surface. Vacuum again.
Apply another coat, let dry and sand again. Vacuum off the powder.
Apply the last coat of polyurethane and this time let it dry for twenty four hours.
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5
Using sandpaper:
If you believe your floor needs a harder treatment, use sand paper to sand it all over. Use 32-grit sandpaper at first over the lay of the grain. Vacuum the dust. Now use a 60 or 80 grit sandpaper. Vacuum again. Finally sand with 100-grit sandpaper. Vacuum the dust and clear the surface with a wet cloth.
Treat the floor to polyurethane now as in the 4th step above.
