The Art of Sanding and Buffing

Sanding: When you take on the job of sanding your hardwood floors, you’re going after coarse sanding equipment to remove all the finish and all the stain. A lot of layers need to be removed to get under the existing stain and sealer. What you should see after a lot of sanding is natural wood.

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Once you get down to the natural wood, you start sanding very carefully to remove imperfections – scratches and nicks. A drum floor sander is ideal and can be rented. Sanding must be done several times using progressively finer sandpaper. The goal is to get the floor as smooth as possible. Once you’ve done all the sanding, get ready to stain!

Buffing is different. Unlike sanding, buffing means you’re tacking small areas of the floor if needed. If there are shallow nicks or small scratches, you would be buff it out by hand. Your options for buffing include either doing it by hand or with stand-behind machinery you can rent. Either way, it’s very important to clean your floor before getting started.

Important Cleaning Steps:

1. Sweep or vacuum the floor with a hard floor attachment to remove loose dirt.

2. Use a wood-safe cleaner with water 

3. Mop your floor with the mixture. Try not have excessive water - do not let liquid pool, which can warp and streak wood. 

4. Gently scrub stains and shoe marks with a quality cleaner. If there's a stain that's hard to get out, use a toothbrush or sponge. Do not use steel wool or scouring pads to avoid scratches. 

5. Rinse the water and enjoy the shine. 

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Noteworthy: If you're depending on a housecleaning service, be very clear with them about how you expect your floors to be cleaned. Don't leave it up to chance. If you walk them through the correct steps, you know that you've protected your investment. 

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