Refinishing School

By: John D. Wagner (Page 1 of 7)

Photo: Andrew Kline

Make overlapping passes using a 16-in. floor polisher outfitted with 60-, 80-, 100-, and 120-grit screening. Screen edges by hand with a palm sander fitted with 100-grit sandpaper.

Photo: Andrew Kline

Use grit sandpaper to take the rough burrs off a screening disk before attaching it to the machine. This prevents the disk from cutting too deeply into the finish when the polisher first starts.

Photo: Andrew Kline

Disks are held in place by the weight of the polisher and a synthetic-wool pad. There are no clamps or screws.

Photo: Andrew Kline

An edger can get right against cabinets and walls, but for corners, use a razor-sharp wood scraper to hand-scrape all the way down to bare wood.

Photo: Andrew Kline

An even coat of polyurethane finish is applied in long strokes using a lamb's wool applicator, always maintaining a wet edge.

Photo: Andrew Kline

For a shallow burn mark on a polyurethane floor, scrape it up with an extremely sharp chisel or scraper. Then apply a dollop of oil-based polyurethane.

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What You'll Learn:

Most hardwood floors are made of oak, but despite the durable nature of this wood, it only looks as good as the surface finish. Water stains, scratches, dullness and whole areas worn bare by household traffic are signs that it's time to refinish the floor. In the past that meant sanding down to bare wood—a dust-producing, time-consuming process that's risky if you don't have experience or expensive if you hire a pro.

Some floors require this level of work, but many others can be revitalized by screening, a process that takes off the top layer of polyurethane but doesn't remove any wood. This relatively inexpensive technique gives you the option of doing the work yourself with little risk and saves you the cleanup and hassle associated with floor sanding.