How To Refinish Hardwood Floors

Learning how to refinish hardwood floors doesn’t always require sanding down to bare wood. With the right tools and technique, you can use a buffer and a fresh coat of finish to restore shine and extend the life of your floors. Refinishing hardwood is a fast and minimally disruptive process, making it a practical option for surfaces with light wear and an intact finish.

The video above demonstrates key hardwood refinishing steps in real time, including buffer handling and finish application techniques. Our guide also includes tips from experienced pros, including This Old House general contractor Tom Silva, to help you avoid common mistakes.

The Cost of Sanding and Refinishing Hardwood Floors Yourself

Refinishing hardwood floors yourself costs between $500 and $1,000, whereas hiring a professional will cost anywhere from $1,100 and $2,663. The total cost includes renting sanding equipment along with purchasing sanding pads, wood stain, brushes, and finish. How much you pay depends on the square footage of the area you’re refinishing, the type of flooring, finishing method, and the specific materials.

Actual costs will vary depending on floor condition, room size, and the type of finish used. Floors with heavy wear, repairs, or uneven surfaces may require additional prep work, which can increase both time and material needs.

_{Note: The cost data featured in this guide is based on pricing estimates from Angi, unless otherwise noted.}

Is It Cheaper To Refinish or Replace Hardwood Floors?

In most cases, refinishing is cheaper than replacing hardwood floors. With the latter, you’d be paying not only for the new wood but also for the labor of ripping out the old wood and toting it away. Installing a new hardwood floor costs between $2,475 and $7,031, or $6–$25 per square foot for the flooring and $3–$6 for installation, but this doesn’t include the cost of removing the old flooring.

What To Consider Before Refinishing Hardwood Floors

There are some things to consider before you refinish your hardwood floors. If there’s damage to the wood, such as dents and scratches, visible wear, cupping, crowning, or discoloration, you may need to sand the floor down before you can restore the finish. If you apply the finish over dents and scratches, they could become more noticeable.

Sometimes, the tannins from your wood floor may react to water-based polyurethane, causing discoloration. To avoid this, apply a base coat before applying the water-based poly. Smooth the base coat out evenly around the edges with a paint brush. Don’t brush too fast, or you may create bubbles, which will show in the finish. Smooth out the rest of the floor with a synthetic floor finish applicator and give your base coat about two hours to dry.

In many cases, the deciding factor isn’t just visible wear but how evenly the existing finish has worn. Uneven wear patterns can lead to inconsistent results with a simple recoat, even when the finish is applied correctly.

Recommended Tools

Refinishing Hardwood Floors Step-by-Step

Follow these steps for refinishing the wood floors in your home.

1. Clean the Floor With a Hardwood Floor Cleaner

• Remove all the furniture, and spray the floor with a hardwood flooring cleaner or your own mix of 10 parts water to one part white vinegar.
• Gently wipe the floor with a terry-cloth mop or a towel wrapped around a mop head.
• Close the windows and doors to keep dust contained in the room you’re sanding.

Expert tip: Avoid using strong vinegar solutions or excessive water when cleaning. As Brett Miller, a technical expert with the National Wood Flooring Association, notes in This Old House Magazine, even common household cleaners can damage finishes if overused, especially on polyurethane-coated floors. Wring your mop thoroughly and keep moisture to a minimum to prevent dulling or adhesion issues later.

2. Prep the Perimeter

• Use 180-grit sandpaper to hand-sand the perimeter and any areas the buffer can’t reach.
• Sand with the grain, working 4 to 6 inches out from the baseboard.
• Continue until the finish dulls evenly and a light powder forms.

Pro tip: Don’t use a sanding block for refinishing hardwood—it can miss uneven spots in the floor and lead to inconsistent prep.

3. Scuff-Sand the Floor Finishing

• Attach a maroon buffing pad to the buffer and put on a dust mask.
• Move the buffer from side to side with the grain, overlapping each pass by about 6 inches.
• Watch for the old finish turning to powder to track your progress.
• Stop every five minutes or so to vacuum the pad.

Expert tip: Keep the buffer moving at all times to avoid uneven sanding. Flooring finisher Peter Egan tells This Old House Magazine, “You have to keep moving, always moving. If you pause too long in one spot, you’ll take the finish right off.”

4. Vacuum and Tack

• Leave the room for 10 to 15 minutes to let dust settle.
• Use a vacuum with a clean filter and a felt-bottomed attachment to clean the floor.
• Vacuum with the grain, then across it to remove debris between boards.
• Dry-tack the floor with a microfiber cloth, moving with the grain.

Tip: Even after vacuuming, fine dust can linger and affect your floor finish. In the video featured above, Silva recommends wiping the floor with a tack cloth to pick up remaining particles and working toward an exit so you don’t trap yourself during application.

5. Cut in Along the Edges

• Cover your shoes with booties and wear a respirator with organic vapor canisters.
• Strain the finish into a clean plastic watering can, then pour a small amount into a separate container.
• Use a 3-inch brush to apply a strip of finish along the baseboards, starting farthest from your exit.
• Work in small sections to prevent the edges from drying too quickly.

Pro tip: If the edge begins to dry before you roll the main section, you’ll get visible lap marks. Stop after about 10 minutes and blend into the next section while the finish is still wet.

6. Roll Out the Rest of the Finish

• Pour a narrow strip of finish along the grain—only as much as you can spread in about 10 minutes.
• Use a long-handled roller with a 1/4-inch nap to spread the finish with the grain, then lightly across it.
• Overlap each pass to maintain even coverage.
• Continue in sections until the floor is fully coated. Wait three hours before recoating and about a week before replacing furniture.

Pro tip: Work at a slight angle rather than in perfectly straight lines to reduce visible roller marks and ensure more even coverage.

When Refinishing Won’t Work

Screening and recoating is a faster, less invasive way to refresh hardwood floors, but it’s not the right solution for every situation.

• Deep scratches or gouges: Surface refinishing won’t remove damage that extends into the wood.
• Gray or black discoloration: This often indicates water damage or embedded dirt that requires full sanding.
• Cupping or uneven boards: Structural issues need more extensive sanding—or repair—before refinishing.
• Worn-through finish: If bare wood is exposed in high-traffic areas, a full sand-and-refinish will deliver better results.

Before committing to a full refinishing, consider whether a simple “screen and poly” approach will do the job. According to This Old House Magazine, lightly abrading the surface and applying a new coat of polyurethane can restore floors with minor wear. This can save time and significantly reduce cost compared to sanding down to bare wood.

Our Conclusion

Refinishing hardwood floors with a screen and recoat method is an effective way to restore shine without full sanding. It works best on floors with light wear and an intact finish. The final result depends heavily on proper prep, especially thorough cleaning and dust removal. Careful application is also key to avoiding streaks or uneven coverage. If your floors have deep damage, discoloration, or exposed wood, a full sanding and refinishing is the better option.