How To Sand Floors?
It is important to know the tips, techniques and tricks of how to sand floors to get a smooth and fresh surface ready for re-coating. Sanding a wooden floor seems difficult and would require large machines for sanding but for small areas one can do with a sanding machine and get successful results. There are a few steps which one would need to follow.
Primarily one has to remove the old floor finish and check the surface for nails or screws as they can cause a tear in the sanding belt and damage the sanding machine. Then one would have to fill in any holes or indentations with colored filler to hide the imperfection. If one cannot find a filler to match the surface of the wood one can mix a little saw dust with the filler and add that to the dent. It is important to use the appropriate tools and equipment for sanding such as a large belt sanding machine, a small edging sander for the borders of the floor and a vacuum cleaner to suck up the dust which is left behind after sanding. A sander is similar to a mowing machine which requires to be moved around the room. Staying in one spot for long can create a gouge on the floor and should be avoided.
Prepare well before sanding a room like get the furniture removed, seal up all electric outlets like switches, telephone sockets, lighting and more. Allow ventilation by opening all the windows. Start rough sanding by using twenty four grit sandpaper sand slantwise across the room. Ensure that the sanding machine tilts backwards on its wheels while sanding to prevent the belt from coming in contact with the floor as it can cause a dent in the floor. Even while stopping the machine, ensure that the sanding belt is not in contact with the floor. The edges of the floor can be sanded using the small edging sander. Try and keep a flat surface without any ridges.
After the first stage of sanding is over, one has to clean the floor before repeating the process of sanding once again. Now the pattern of sanding is changed to vertical sanding instead of the oblique form used earlier. Again after cleaning up repeat the process of sanding in the direction of the floor boards laid and use smaller edging sander for the corners of the room. The final sanding must give the floor a smooth finish preparing it for the final coating of lacquer and polish. The flooring is now ready for further processing.