How Do You Finish An Old Wood Floor?
If you’ve got an old wood floor that needs a complete refinishing, remember that the floor may have been through this before. The process of refinishing involves sanding off the old finish and the top layer of wood, which can be done just a few times in a floor’s lifetime before the sanding process starts digging too deep into the structure of the boards. For older floors, start with 60-grit sandpaper (instead of the rougher 36-grit you would usually start with), and don’t sand any more than is necessary to prepare the grain for re-staining. Remove the floor trim from the room, using your hammer and pry bar. Go around the whole floor with your hammer and nail set, looking for raised nail heads. Knock down any that you find. Load your drum sander with 60-grit sandpaper. Sand the whole floor, running the sander at an angle across the direction of the floorboards, in a steady forward-and-back motion, so it starts to take off the old finish. Don’t let the sander stand in one place while it
