Tips to Refinish Hardwood Floors by Los Angeles’ Hardwood Flooring Expert

A Refinished hardwood floor makes a huge difference in the appearance of your room like no other project. To hire a professional to sand, seal, stain, and apply several coats of an oil-based poly finish will cost $3 to $4 per square foot but doing it yourself can save you at the minimum half of that. You just have to consider that the task of sanding floors and refinishing is hard and unforgiving work. One mistake and flaws will show.

If your are up for the task, here are some useful tips:

1. If you don’t plan to sand many floors, choose a DIY-friendly sanding equipment 

Random orbital sanders are the best choice DIY floor re-finishers.  They take longer to remove old finishes than drum sanders, but you don’t have to have a lot of experience to use them so you are less likely to damage your floor. With a random orbital sander, you can move with or against the wood grain. Don’t forget to keep the sander level at all times. Even an orbital sander can “run away” from you and cause markings that are difficult to remove.

2. Take precautions & Protect your back
For a DIY project such as this you want to make sure that you are  protecting yourself  very well. Sanding and refinishing floors produce  a lot oft of dust and fume. You must make sure to have plenty of dust masks and earplugs. Also when applying sealers and oil-based polyurethane, wear NIOSH-approved organic vapor respirators, neoprene or vinyl gloves, and eye protection with splashguards. In addition we suggest getting help for moving things around and while transporting sanders from the rental store to your house (or up stairs). Use ramps to move the machine whenever possible. Also, get help moving heavy furniture out of the room. (Rooms must be completely emptied before you begin your project.)

3. Sanding
Begin with coarse-grit abrasives so you can remove the old finish and most surface scratches. Avoid using grits coarser than 60; this will help keep you from damaging the flooring. Proceed with abrasives that are gradually finer until you reach the desired degree of smoothness. (Professional’s preferred progression for a hardwood floor such as oak begins with 60-grit abrasive, goes to 80-grit, and finishes with 100- or 120-grit.) Sand row by row, overlapping runs by half the sander’s width. You will have to make numerous passes with each grit.

4. Remember the corners and near baseboard moldings
Palm sander can be used to sand near baseboard moldings, also you may use a sharp scraper to remove any areas of old finish the sander may miss. Scrapers allow you to get into board edges without having to remove a lot of material with the sander.

5. Remove dust and guard against hair
When you are done sanding, remove all dust by vacuuming and then wiping the sanded areas with tack mop or cloth (Tack Mop is an industrial mop, specially designed for flooring contractors). If you find embedded in dried polyurethane and you still have at least one or two coat to go, lightly sand over the hair with a very fine abrasive. Carefully dig out the hair. Then re sand with the same very fine (320) abrasive, taking care not to breach the stain layer. After applying the re-coating with poly, your hair mark will be no more.

6. Sealing
Normally it is recommended to apply a sealer coat, especially if your floor takes stain unevenly, it will help ensure even out stain coverage. You may test for this by applying stain to an area which will not be visible once furniture is moved back into place. It is important to apply the sealer evenly.

7. Apply stain evenly
This task, especially over a large area, isn’t as easy as it sounds. The best technique involves applying the stain with an applicator to one small area at a time (apx 16″ x 4′) and rubbing off all excess with a rag after. Avoid letting the edges of your job to dry. you will end up with stripes marks. You have more time to work with Oil-based stains than the water-based stains.

8. Thin coats are better than thick
Pros generally pour polyurethane along the floor and then spread it with a lamb’s wool applicator, but for you this is likely to result in a layer that’s too thick. A high-density foam roller is probably a better way for you to roll the polyurethane. The coat will be thin, even, and will quickly dry and your floors will have a  glassy smooth finish. Also please make sure to use a good brush for cutting in around the corners and sides of your room.

If sanding and re-finishing is not what you are looking for and instead you are in hunt for completely re-doing your hardwood floors in Los Angeles, companies such as Cosmos Flooring in  Los Angeles can help you achieve your idea considering your desire and budget. At Cosmos Flooring they carry a great selection of hardwood floors. You can contact Cosmos Flooring’s store / showroom in Los Angeles at (323) 936-2180.