Sanding A Wood Floor What Grit

Prior to rough cutting remove quarter round and or baseboards.

Sanding a wood floor what grit. Skipping a grit number won t save time. Use the finest grit size that will handle the task and follow the correct sequence. You ll need to sand the entire floor not just one section. Use 60 or 80 grit for aggressive fast wood removal.

You will remove a lot of wood stock even when sanding the hardest of wood floor species. Use 24 grit sandpaper if there are sander flaws e g. Start sanding the floor with some really coarse sandpaper we started with 24 grit paper. We used 24 grit 40 grit 80 grit and 120 grit.

Fine grits close up the pores of the wood so if you sand to too fine a grit less finish will soak into the surface. After removing most of the old layers of varnish stain and grime you can move on the less coarse paper. After sanding fill in holes in the floor with wood putty or wood filler. That way you ll get a heads up on and hopefully the knowledge to avoid some of the problems you might encounter and some of the mistakes beginners make.

Power sanding requires a slower pace than hand sanding. It would be a total waste of time and effort to begin with 80 grit on the pre sanded veneered wood and you would risk sanding through. Remove shoe moulding the wood trim where the wall meets the floor. Before you start sanding remove everything from the room and vacuum the floor.

100 150 and 220 for example. When determining which grit best follows the one just used remember that the next grit should be no more than about 50 percent higher than the one before it. Use when there is a good deal of flattening of the floor needed. You can finish sand both of these surfaces with 180 grit for example but you might begin with 80 grit on the solid wood and 120 grit on the plywood.

Now when should you stop sanding. Swirl marks in the wood or if the finish has worn down to the wood in certain areas. This is also usually a good. Sanding the floor will kick up a lot of dust so protect light fixtures and tape over electrical outlets.

Power tools leave. Be sure to work in well ventilated rooms when sanding or applying stain or finish. Use 100 grit for all purpose sanding and 120 or 180 for the finest finish but follow power tool sanding with hand sanding. Use a wood filler that is stainable and is the color of the floor.

Start with the rough cut. None of it is rocket science but it will help you to read through all the sanding pages including first things first working with sanders and edgers and the sanding faq before you begin. Spot test the stain or finish to see what it looks like on the floor before applying a coat. Sanding a wood floor is a multi step process.