Keeping distressed look when refinishing wood floor
cassini
like to sand and urethane
it while preserving the distressed look of the floor. The wormholes,
larvae trails, nicks, chips, cups, gaps, water stains...I want to keep
'em.
(People are paying good money for this kind of distressed
flooring these days). Rustic is what I want.
Which means I don't think it's a good idea to run a monstrous sanding
machine over it several times--as every DIY article on the net
advises when you Google "refinishing wood floors."
I am thinking of using a pro-quality orbital palm sander with a
not-so-coarse grit and sanding enough to make sure there's no
splinters or other imperfections that will rip into my bare feet. Then
just urethaning the floor a couple of coats and not have to worry
about
sanding between each coat.
Wearing kneepads, and resting my back every
half hour, I'll do one room at a time over a few weekends.
Any thoughts on:
1. My plan.
2. What grit of sandpaper I should use.
3. Water-based urethane sound good?
4. Anyone of you tried something like this before?
Thanks much!
nosp...@vcoms.net
odor than oil based. Flecto WB varathane label has "Our hardest
finish". Plan sounds good, hope it works!
David Martel
I'm not sure why you want to do your sanding with a palm sander. Check
at the rental place to see if you can get 100 to 200 grit drums or pads.
You will get a much smoother finish this way. Use the palm sander on the
floor's edges and tight spaces. Figure on a week from start to finish per
room. I'd consider staining the floors. Use more than a couple of coats of
urethane, at least three. And remember that the floor must dry for several
weeks to a month before heavy use.
Good luck,
Dave M
m Ransley
self into. Do you want it greyed ? Do you want it looking new with
worm holes ? Are you doing what you want or what you said "people want"
You want to keep water stains ??? . Umless your decorating is Rustic
or its a remodeled barn and you have 12" wide gap pine it will probably
be a mistake that anyone will redo. Forget the palm sander idea.
dadiOH
> I have a 80-year-old hardwood floor in my American Bungalow and I'd
> like to sand and urethane
> it while preserving the distressed look of the floor. The wormholes,
> larvae trails, nicks, chips, cups, gaps, water stains...I want to
> keep 'em.
> (People are paying good money for this kind of distressed
> flooring these days). Rustic is what I want.
>
> Which means I don't think it's a good idea to run a monstrous
> sanding machine over it several times--as every DIY article on the
> net advises when you Google "refinishing wood floors."
>
> I am thinking of using a pro-quality orbital palm sander with a
> not-so-coarse grit and sanding enough to make sure there's no
> splinters or other imperfections that will rip into my bare feet.
> Then just urethaning the floor a couple of coats and not have to
> worry about
> sanding between each coat.
Using a palm sander, you should finish about the time your house is 100
years old.
If you want rustic, why do you want to sand? What's on the floor now?
Shellac, probably, if it hasn't been refinished in many years. Any reason
why you can't clean it and add more coats if it needs it?
If you sand, you'd be well advised to rent a pad sander. They have a platen
maybe 12" X 18". Paper is available from very coarse to a screen which is
about 120. The only advantage (in your case) of a small hand sander is that
it will sand into gentle, broad depressions that a larger sander would
bridge.
Actually, for what you want to do, something that uses a flexible abrasive
would work best. I'm thinking of something like steel wool but that
wouldn't leave bits of steel. There must be something like that, don't
know.
--
dadiOH
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____________________________
cassini
about my wild plan to bypass the well-traveled "rent a floor and edge
sander-stain-three coats of urethane" route.
But I'm still tempted to go forward foolhardily with my plan.
If I do, I'll post my progress on a Web site where you can see before
and after photos and maybe get some entertainment value out of my
crazy project.
Here's what I'll do: I'll test my proposed method on the floor of the
bedroom closet. It's about 4x3 feet, I figure.
Before I proceed, here's some questions I still have (followed by
answers to your questions):
1. This National Wood Floor Association guide for distressing wood
floors advises NOT to use a floor sander葉o sand by hand with a block
of wood and sandpaper! I was able to print out the PDF yesterday on
this, but wasn't able to link to it today.
Here's the HTML version through Google search:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:_z1nbTpuN1AJ:www.nwfa.org/member/magDetail.aspx%3Fid%3D13%26itemid%3D49+wood+floor+distressed+how+to&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
I know this NWFA example isn't exactly "on point" with my situation,
but my question is:
If the NWFA can recommend sanding a wood floor by hand, then why can't
I sand mine LIGHTLY and carefully by hand with my trusty Porter-Cable
7336 3.7 amp variable speed Random Orbital Sander? URL:
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=2316774
2. Before the age of electricity and power sanders and respirators,
how the heck did people refinish their wood floors? What tools did
they use? Did it take them 100 years to refinish their floors?
Now here's your questions:
Q: A palm sander , heee hee hee , you dont know what you are getting
A: I'm not sure what you mean by do I want it "greyed." I want it to
have a distressed look (because it is distressed) but preserve/protect
it with a few coats of something or other. I don't mind if areas of
wear and tear or stains create an inconsistent look to the stain. If
in the course of sanding, I end up removing the stain color, I don't
mind. I can live with the "natural wood" color.
Q: If you want rustic, why do you want to sand? What's on the floor
now?
Shellac, probably, if it hasn't been refinished in many years. Any
reason
why you can't clean it and add more coats if it needs it?
A: I am not sure what finish is on the floor now. I seriously doubt
its any product made in the last 30 years. I believe I need to
lightly sand because there are some rough spots that will give you a
splinter if you walk around in your bare feet. Also, won't sanding
help a finish coat "take" better? Your "clean-add more coats" idea is
intriguing. Any recommendations good ways to clean the floor? Can a
"clean-sand some rough spots-add more coats" approach work?
Thanks, look forward to hearing from you.
dadiOH
> Q: If you want rustic, why do you want to sand? What's on the floor
> now?
> Shellac, probably, if it hasn't been refinished in many years. Any
> reason
> why you can't clean it and add more coats if it needs it?
>
> A: I am not sure what finish is on the floor now. I seriously doubt
> its any product made in the last 30 years. I believe I need to
> lightly sand because there are some rough spots that will give you a
> splinter if you walk around in your bare feet.
Reasonable
___________________
> Also, won't sanding
> help a finish coat "take" better?
Not necessarily. Two types of top coats - shellac and lacquer - will
amalgamate with an undercoat of the same; i.e., the vehicle dissolves the
surface of the undercoat and the old and new flow together into one.
I don't know when shellac fell out of favor but it was the preferred finish
for many years. Quite possibly because it dried rapidly and finishers could
apply several coats in a day. Used to be inexpensive too. Times change...
:( The vehicle is alcohol, same will dissolve it if you want to test.
There is also nothing wrong with oil as a floor finish, IMO. Easy to apply,
easy to maintain. _____________________
> Your "clean-add more coats" idea
> is intriguing. Any recommendations good ways to clean the floor?
Soap and some water...TSP...
_______________________
> Can a "clean-sand some rough spots-add more coats" approach work?
Sure. You would need to determine what is on it now so you could apply new
that is compatible or a barrier coat first (shellac) if not.
nosp...@vcoms.net
sanding between coats is required if not runs or dust nibs. Shellac
was the floor finish used for YEARS and will soften if alcohol is
applied. Wet a Q-tip with alcohol and apply it in an inconspcuous
spot like a corner. If the finish softens it's shellac. New coats
will melt into old.
tweaked
>
> 2. Before the age of electricity and power sanders and respirators,
> how the heck did people refinish their wood floors? What tools did
> they use? Did it take them 100 years to refinish their floors?
>
Floors were scraped in the old days. That technique is now used for a
distressed look. It would e considerably faster than a palm sander.
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Oak Park Rehabber
stains and different colored finishes in different rooms -- but I don't
want the floors to look brand new. Did your method work?
--
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