How to Strip and Finish Wood Flooring?

How to Strip and Finish Wood Flooring?

With a little time and effort wooden floors can be refinished to restore them to their former glory or to create a new look in your home.

Here are some guidelines on stripping and refinishing:

While stripping a floor may seem like a huge undertaking, the good news is that most of the tough work is done by a floor sander which you can hire. The simplest sander to use is an upright sander, which can be run along the floor from a standing position. For areas that the large sander cannot reach you should also hire a hand-held sander.
Before you begin sanding, everything mobile should be taken out of the area in which you will be working. Anything that cannot be moved should be covered in order to protect it from the dust your sanding will generate.
Make sure that you thoroughly clean the floor you will be sanding. Check the area for any protruding nail heads. If you find any, hammer them back below the surface of the wood. Exposed nail heads may damage your sander.
While it is possible to lightly sand and then re-varnish a floor in fairly good condition, it is advisable, especially if you are striving for a new look, to completely remove any existing paint or varnish from the surface.
Your sanding machine will restore your wooden surface to a clean grain. It is important to bear in mind that sanding will flatten the overall surface this may not be suitable in very old properties as it will remove the worn effects and unevenness of the floor which may be essential to the character of the property.
You should always sand your floor in the direction of the grain. For the first sanding, your sander will use a heavier grit paper. Paper is normally supplied with the hire of the machine.
Once you have sanded the main floor area you will need to use your hand-held sander to reach areas missed by the upright sander. You will also need to ensure that the area has been sanded right into the corners: this will require some sanding by hand.
At this stage you should firstly brush and then hoover up all the dust you can from the floor.
The next thing to do is to fill any very small cracks and gaps. Your hardware/DIY store will advise you on the most suitable type of filler for your wood and colour. You should leave the filler to dry before you resume sanding.
Once again sand the floor in the direction of the grain. At this point you will be using a finer paper. Repeat sanding the corners and hard-to-reach areas with your hand-held sander. The number of times you have to sand the area will depend on the condition of the floor and the amount of paint or varnish to be stripped.
Vacuum the floor again and clean away all of the dust in the room, you are now ready to refinish your floor.
There are a large number of wood washes, stains, colour washes and varnishes to choose from for your finished look. Many stains also varnish, and there are wood washes available that do not require varnishing. If you are using a finish, be sure to select a hardwearing product.
Make yourself some sample boards using strips of wood similar to your flooring. Using these you can experiment with colours and varnish before you make your final choice.

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