Sander for Floor Refinishing

[luvmytoolz]

Fantastic result, that flooring looks sensational!

 

[Eko]

@PaulMarcel

I've had my share of mishaps using a belt sander but this seems almost foolproof. A great suggestion, and one I had not considered. Thanks.

 

[Eko]

@ear3

Beautiful. Your original flooring (and color) looks very similar to mine except that yours looks nicer.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I actually did use my RO150 and 150/3 on a floor at our old property...but it was "new" wide pine, rather than refinishing. Even so, it was a thankless job and the only reason I didn't rent an appropriate tool was because of funds. Fortunately, it was two small rooms and I had good knee pads. I'd never do it again, however.

 

[Allano]

I recently sanded around 30 square meter of living room floor with a RTS 150/5. It did not take long to realize that I spent too much time on my knees. And too much time getting up to fetch stuff, which I had left behind, now out of reach.

So I sat down on a SYS-RB instead, put all my other gear on a wheel board, and did the rest of sanding on my ass. That worked well.

 

[Allano]

End result:

 

[Packard]

Also, check the local weekly Penny Saver. There are guys out there that will quote to “sand-only” and let you do the finishing. It may not make sense to do it yourself.

Also note that 200 hours is generally the time given for a “full-cure” on even water-based finishes. My experience is that it takes longer than that. So don’t rush to put the floors back to use. Or wear slippers for the first several weeks.

 

[usernumber1]

In my view these type of projects are not hobby level or enjoyable. I would rent a vehicle to transport the machine and materials necessary. Just the cost of doing business. Obviously there's a budget so if it's out of scope then have at it, kneepads and goodbye weekends

 

[smorgasbord]

It's really hard to evaluate finished floor quality from a few photos.
As I stated upstream, I had the floors in one room redone. This was by painters that I really like, and had done a different room years earlier.
They agreed to use their ETS EC 150/5s, and to try out the Planex. The idea, as before, was to limit the amount of material removed since the hardwood only started out as ½" thick there aren't going to be many refinishes in its life.

Well, this room had a tougher finish on it than the previous room. It was a lot harder to sand off. The Planex didn't help, and was a waste of time, even if it did let them stand for a bit.

Unfortunately, they used a medium pad on the random orbit sander. BIG mistake - with a shiny finish and the sun hitting the room just right and you standing in the right place (which you do as you come up the stairs), you see lots of undulations. If you look for my thread Murphy Bed in Cherry you can see the floor, and it looks great in the photos:

https://festoolownersgroup.com/attachments/bedinroom-jpg.373296/

But, as you come up those stairs in the background with the light streaming in from the windows you can't see in the photo, it's not so great.

 

[ear3]

That floor came out really nice Edward...what disc did you use, the gold paint disc?

How much total time do you think you have in that refinishing?

Thanks! @Cheese
Gold disc, you are correct. On the sanding part, it spanned 3 days. I might have cut it to 2 had i pushed through later in the day.

 

[Cheese]

Thanks! @Cheese
Gold disc, you are correct. On the sanding part, it spanned 3 days. I might have cut it to 2 had i pushed through later in the day.

Thanks Edward...resurfacing wood with diamond encrusted tooling is new to me but incredibly interesting as that's a relatively new option for the woodworking community. I think within a few years it may become the preferred method.

Again...a good job on refinishing the floor.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Thanks! @Cheese
Gold disc, you are correct. On the sanding part, it spanned 3 days. I might have cut it to 2 had i pushed through later in the day.

I was curious why you didn't use the depth collar? You mentioned it leaving deep scratches so I wondered if the collar would have avoided that. Or did the collar not work well? I'd be curious why

 

[Packard]

One of the key advantages (for me) of a dedicated floor sander is that you work standing up, like a hominid, and not on on all fours like a canine.

 

[MMCO]

@MMCO

Fortunately the floors don't need aggressive sanding that would require a grinder. Even if they did I'm not sure I would trust myself with a grinder on a wood floor.

I know you are not needing this aggressive of a tool but I thought I would provide my experience with the Renofix. I don't consider it a grinder in the truest sense. The metal base the tool rides on is infinitely adjustable so you can remove a very tiny amount of material for each pass. I used it to remove decades of old paint on very soft redwood and it made quick work of it and didn't damage the wood. Yes, I had to go back and sand but not that much. Previously I tried paint remover, scraping and a Rotex and wasn't making much progress for the hours of work.

For reference, the first photo is after I used the RENOFIX and the second is after a quick sand.

 

[eMeR]

I've done that once for a pretty small (like 15m²) room that had a lacquered oak parquet using RO150. I was really happy with the outcome as this was my spare time project, but next time I would probably rent a dedicated tool for that (those big belt sanders) that would make the job way faster and most likely at a better quality.
I have started with P40 to remove old lacquer and to perform initial leveling. Went up to P180, I believe.
Having BG-RO 150 attached really made handling easier. And I have used high-quality knee pads, as you're going to spend plenty of time on your knees. Other than that, the process was pretty straightforward.

 

[luvmytoolz]

@eMeR That came out great!

 

[eMeR]

P.S. I highly recommend switching to a new empty bag once reaching a "clean" wood. Dust mixed with a sanding sealer is a great thing to fill all spaces and cracks, if there are any.

 

[Cheese]

P.S. I highly recommend switching to a new empty bag once reaching a "clean" wood. Dust mixed with a sanding sealer is a great thing to fill all spaces and cracks, if there are any.

Good job on the floor especially using just the RO 150.

When I've refinished oak & maple floors, I saved a bag of sawdust for that express purpose. The same happens when I sand teak furniture, although I don't need to save nearly as much saw dust because it's usually used for repairs rather than filling.

 

[eMeR]

Good job on the floor especially using just the RO 150.

Thank you!

When I've refinished oak & maple floors, I saved a bag of sawdust for that express purpose. The same happens when I sand teak furniture, although I don't need to save nearly as much saw dust because it's usually used for repairs rather than filling.

Common hardwood sawdust reserve makes sense

 

[Sparktrician]

We have a 100+ year-old home with original oak floors in desperate need of refinishing. Buying an industrial floor sander is not an option nor do I want to rent one even though it would make short(er) work of it compared to using a small handheld one. Still, that's the route I want to go so I would like to get some sander recommendations from those of you who may have ventured down a similar flooring path. Looking at the options a Rotex 150 seems like an obvious choice but perhaps an ETS EC 150/3 would be enough.

Thanks,

Todd

If you value your back and knees, bite the bullet and rent a serious floor sander for the bulk of the work, then do the corner areas with an RO 150 or even an RO 90 with the delta pad. And be sure to wear a serious dust mask to protect your lungs. I did all the red oak floors in a house I used to own and had absolutely no issues with the results of the sanding and finishing. (Wish I could say the same about my now ex-spouse...)