When you want to stain or change the color of your hardwood floors, you MUST fully sand and refinish the floors. If you don’t sand the floors first, the stain won’t properly penetrate the hardwood nor will the polyurethane properly adhere. This is the ONLY way to change the color of your hardwood floors.

How do you sand and stain original hardwood floors?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: The floors vacuum the floors multiple times until all the dust is gone and then tape off your trim so that you don't get any stain on it and once that is done and everything is off the floor.

Can you sand hardwood floors and stain them?





Use a random orbital sander to sand the floor three times, using a lighter-grit abrasive with each pass. Remove dust with a heavy-duty shop vac followed by rags dampened with mineral spirits. Apply stain to the hardwood floor in one 2-foot section at a time using a lambswool applicator.

Do you have to sand wood floors before sealing?

You should always sand the floor before sealing, even if you’re installing new, unfinished flooring boards, and it’s important to seal as soon as possible after sanding, whether you use penetrating tung oil or a film finish, such as oil- or water-based polyurethane.

Do you have to buff a floor before staining?

You must sand the floor completely several times over with progressively finer sandpaper in order to make sure the floor is as smooth as possible before refinishing it. Once you’re done sanding, you can stain the floor again.

Can I sand hardwood floors with a hand sander?

The palm sander is definitely the most common tool for sanding a wooden floor by hand. Palm sanders also oscillate, however, unlike orbital random sanders, the pad of the palm sander is fixed straight.

What grit sandpaper should I use for hardwood floors?





Start with 36-grit sandpaper for a floor that hasn’t been sanded in a long time or that has a lot of heavy finish on it. Floors that have been painted may even require you to go tougher and use 24 or 16-grit paper. Maple floors are so hard that they often require 36-grit sandpaper as well.

What happens if you stain a floor without sanding?

Though there’s no harm in adding a new finish to floors with this amount of wear because it will protect the floor, a new coat may accentuate existing deep gouges and won’t look flawless. Also, using the chemical etching process (more to come on this below) on bare wood will stain it.

Can you stain a floor without sanding it?

Luckily, you have options other than leaving the floor as it is or replacing it. The best way to refinish wood floors without sanding is to use a technique called screen and recoat. This involves scuffing up the finish with a floor buffer and applying a refresher coat of finish.

Can you refinish hardwood floors without sanding?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Hello I'm Ben Osborne from how to sand a floor comm in this video I'm going to show you how to refinish a floor without sanding now ideally when you do this you're going to have a floor that's not too

How many coats of stain do I need for hardwood floors?



The standard for a hardwood floor is at least three coats. This consists of one seal coat (which may be the stain) and two coats of finish. Additional costs of finish may be applied depending on the need.

What’s the difference between buffing and sanding?

Sanding involves the restaining of planks and sealing them with a new coat of polyurethane. In contrast, buffing only involves polyurethane sealer and does not touch the wood. It does not touch the wood because damage may be contained by this protective layer.

How do you sand a hardwood floor yourself?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Consider fine sanding with a vibrating sander to level the floor. If you're using both tools save the finer grits for use with a vibrating sander and finish with a finer grit like eighty or a hundred.

What is the cheapest way to refinish hardwood floors?



Applying a revitalizer gloss is the simplest and cheapest way to refinish hardwood floors. This approach works best on floors that only have surface-level scratches and other minor wear and tear issues. You can get the job done without the need for equipment rentals or hard-to-find materials.

How hard is it to sand your own floors?

Sanding wood floors is a time consuming but relatively easy procedure. Sanding wood floors & refinishing yourself will definitely save money, and even an inexperienced homeowner can likely do a better job than the lowest bidding handyperson who quotes on it.

How do you sand and stain a floor?

Quote from the video:
Quote from Youtube video: Once the filler dries it is time to flatten the floor with a belt sander. And a sixty grit belt. Move the sander in the direction of the grain sand. As close to the wall as possible.

When should I sand my hardwood floors?

When Should You Refinish Hardwood Floors?

  1. Problem #1: Excessive Dents and Scratches. Dents and scratches on hardwood happen (especially if you have kids or pets). …
  2. Problem #2: Fading and Discoloration from Sunlight Exposure. …
  3. Problem #3: Water Damage on Hardwood. …
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How do you restore original hardwood floors?

If the scratches don’t go all the way through to the wood, you can scuff-sand your floors with a buffer and apply a fresh coat or two of finish. The hardwood floor refinishing process is easier and less expensive than sanding down to bare wood and takes less time. In a few hours, your floors will look as good as new.

What is the fine for sanding wood before finishing?

For heavy sanding and stripping, you need coarse sandpaper measuring 40 to 60 grit; for smoothing surfaces and removing small imperfections, choose 80 to 120 grit sandpaper. For finishing surfaces smoothly, use extra fine sandpaper with 360 to 400grit.

How much do you need to sand before staining?

On most raw woods, start sanding in the direction of the grain using a #120-150 grit paper before staining and work up to #220 grit paper. Soft woods such as pine and alder: start with #120 and finish with no finer than #220 (for water base stains) and 180 grit for oil base stains.

Do you sand wood after you stain it?



You should sand after the first coat of water-based stain to flatten any wood grain the water raised, but it’s unnecessary after that. You don’t need to sand between coats of gel stain or oil-based stain.