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