Refinish

Of all the steps in hardwood floor installation, sanding is by far the least favorite, and not because it's boring.

There is a pattern that must be followed with drum sanders.

The sanding drum is tapered.

This sanding must be continued until no more diagonal scratches are visible.  Sanding floor to bare wood to remove existing stain and finish, starting with coarse to medium grit and finishing with fine grit sandpaper. 

There is a pattern that must be followed with drum sanders. The sanding drum is tapered. This sanding must be continued until no more diagonal scratches are visible. 

After sanding with three grades of sandpaper (40,80,120), it is quite evident where the drum sander's work ended... a very distinct line about 4 inches from the wall.

The power edge sander is necessary to sand down this edge strip.

This tool is basically a very beefy 7 inch disc sander, and the same grits as the drum sander are used. We found that a circular looping motion worked better than simply running the machine along the wall.

After sanding and edging and before the main cleaning, we need to brush the sanding dust from the walls and vacuum the floor with a shop vac.   Since the vacuum's wheels also tend to leave black streaks, we put the shop vac in a shallow cardboard box or we use the vacuum that hangs on our back.  After the floor had been vacuumed thoroughly, we use rubbing alcohol to wipe up the remaining dust.

Color Selection

The colors shown are for reference purposes only. They have been reproduced using digital production techniques. Always test stain on a hidden area of the wood to verify desired color.

Staining Your Floor (optional)

Floors only need to be stained if you want to change their color. If you are happy with your floor?s color, skip this step!

Note: Since stain must be able to penetrate the wood of the floor, stain can only be applied to new, unfinished flooring or to floors that have been sanded according to the directions given in the Sanding section for ?Floors that need a complete refinishing.?

• Choose your stain color. Minwax^®Wood Finish? offers twenty beautiful colors of wood stain, all appropriate for use on hardwood floors. 
• We start in a back corner, and apply the stain with a natural bristle brush or clean cloth
• We apply the stain in the direction of the grain. Letting the stain penetrate until you achieve the desired color, then we remove excess stain with a clean cloth. If a darker color is desired, we need to wait 4-6 hours, then apply a second coat, repeating the same steps we used for the first.
• Once the floor is stained, we let it dry for at least eight hours before applying Polyurethane.

Topcoat Floor

Applying the clear topcoat is our final step protective clear finish that is specifically formulated for use on hardwood floors. It gives long lasting protection and beauty to floors in a super fast-drying, easy to apply formula that levels to a smooth, even sheen. It is available in Gloss, Semi-Gloss and Satin sheens.

• Your choice of sheen is a matter of personal preference and home décor. The sheen does not affect the product's durability.
• We plan our application so that we don't finish ourselves into a corner! Making sure that we start, for example, in the far corner of the room, and work so that you will end up at an exit.
• Starting along a wall, and applying the clear finish, a thin coat using a lamb's wool or synthetic pad applicator, or a natural bristle brush. Maintain a wet edge to avoid lap marks, preferably overlapping into the finish you previously applied by several inches. Being sure to feather in our start and stop places with our applicator.
• Letting it dry at least 3-4 hours until film is no longer tacky, and can be walked on without damaging the surface.
• Buffing the first coat and applying a second coat.
• 2 coat are Basic for Water Base Polyurethane, 3 coat are our Standard, 4 coat is Pro for more traffic and 5 coat are Master for heavy traffic.
• If you decide that oil base is the right type for your floor, the process after applying the stain is the same the only difference is that we need to let it dry between each coat at least 15-24 Hours.
• 2 coat of oil base are our Basic and our Pro.