Is it really necessary to sand a hard wood floor before polishing?

Question

I have a hard wood floor that I would like to polish, but I am too lazy to do the sanding. The floor doesn't look that bad. There are a few stains here and there. Will it look bad if I polish it without sanding?

Answer 1

I'm assuming you're going to be using some type of wax and/or varathane/eurathane type coating. If you were to use these methods and not sand off the existing coating it will look blotchy, and obviously the stains wouldn't go away (in some cases, they go darker when polished). I highly recommend doing even a light sanding to even out the texture on the floor, and the rough finish gives the top coat something to adhere to.

Answer 2

Listen to Judith S!!! If there were no stains and the finish was poly, and not wax you have the option of screening. To see if your floor is in good enough condition find the most worn area and drop a couple of drops of water on it. If the water beads up and does not soak in, the poly is in good enough shape to screen.

Screening- Go to your local Home Depot or tool rental store. Ask for a 15" to 18" orbital floor sander (Screener). It looks just like a floor polisher. Tell the rental folks you are screening your floor. They will give you the correct "head" a pad, and 100 to 120 grit sandpaper. It will cost about $60-$80. Take the machine home.

Practice first by using the pad only, to get a feel of the sander. Then attach either the 100 or 120 grit sandpaper and make 1 pass across the entire floor, that should be enough. Then screen the corners that the orbital sander could not reach by hand. Return machine, they cost money.

Clean the entire area except the floor with a shop vac and a wet rag. This also means walls, cabinets, lights anything dust can attach to. Now clean the floor with a shop vac and a tack cloth. If you use water you run the chance of raising the grain of the wood causing a poorer finish. Come on you have already come this far don't cut corners. Now that you have everything clean. Time to finish.

Time to choose a finish, the finish should match the original (water or oil based) but I perfer oil base because of the golden color it brings. Waterbase has the advantage of not smelling as bad and drys faster. Use a flooring finish like Varathane (No I don't make any money from the plug) it will pay off. When choosing a type of finish High Gloss will show any sanding imperfections but looks beautiful if finished right. Satin may be a better choice for a beginner but doesn't shine like a hardood floor should. While at Home Depot pick up a lambs wool applicator and extention handle. (Saves on the back)

Back home, apply the finish thinly with long even strokes always keeping the edge of your working area wet, will keep down on streaks. Wait until it dries and recoat.

If this is too much info I appologize. If you are in Colorado Springs give me a call and I can take care of it for you.

Answer 3

Judging from the previous answers, there seems to be a disconnect because you are not clear about what you are trying to accomplish. You need to ask yourself some questions.

For instance, do you own your home? If "yes", it is likely your biggest investment. One day, you will have to sell it. Crappy looking floors will lower the value of your home.

How old are these floors? If your floors are wide planks from before 1890, you need to spend a little coin and have an expert come in and advise you. If they are the narrow, long flooring from the 20th century and are in good shape, you should bite the bullet and rent the sanders.

I'm a small woman, for gosh sakes, and I've sanded 3 sets of floors!

If you sand your floors, you'll remove every stain known to humankind, including dog pee. Sanders come with re-usable vacuum bags, but you should Shop Vac up the fine bits before applying urethane. Then use water based urethane which dries crystal clear.

Having bought and sold 5 homes in my life, I can tell you that it is so worth the effort because the floors sparkle and never, ever have to be stripped, waxed or polished again. They clean up with a barely damp mop with no need of any kind of cleansers.

Real estate agents always push hardwood floors as a selling feature, too.

Answer 4

NO! It may not need sanding.

You need to determine if wax has been applied in the past.

If so, don't polish over the old wax. Some discoloration may be old wax. This should be removed with a wax stripper. It's a liquid, should be available from Lowes, Home Depot, or floor stores.
If not wax, then clean the floor before polishing. Any "stains" will remain.

Removal of "stains" would need sanding.

Answer 5

I think that for the best look and easiest polish you should definetily sand but for just a natural shine you should either do a light coat or hold off on any sanding at all. I would just make sure that if you aren't sanding just mop and clean the floor and maybe wax it, but just make sure that any bumps or uneven spaces be unnoticeable or hardly noticeable at all. Glad to give my advice hope it helps!

Answer 6

Don't sand it is a lot of work and a mess.Look for a polish that says it goes over old finishes and follow its directions.It will look better and worse case scenario you can sand it off in the future.

Answer 7

If they aren't scratched, or very superficial scratches, wash floor with mineral spirits on an old towel. Get up all the dust and re-varnish with two coats of oil based floor varnish. Like Mcklosky's, Varathane or Benjamin Moore. Hey enod, there is no lead in a clear finish. Lead was used as a pigment. Get it CLEAR = NO PIGMENT

Answer 8

you have to sand it first to get off all the old polish and to open the surface to 'grab ahold' of the stain - to give it something to adhere to, and to have a nice product afterwords. Don't skip steps on something like a wood floor you will regret it.

Answer 9

sanding enough should remove the layers that have the stains in them, you can rent a floor sander and then you need to seal it, then put on wax and buff with a rental buffer. or yes it wont look too swift.

Answer 10

considering the laziness factor, your best bet is a can of pledge and a swiffer. anything more takes a bit of ambition.