DIY: Removing a Penetrating Finish from Wood Floors

Penetrating finishes don't offer the shine or protection from water that polyurethane and other more modern finishes offer. For this reason, you may want to remove the penetrating finish and add a different finish to your wood floors. Unlike polyurethane or paint, penetrating finishes should not be removed using a chemical stripper. Instead, sanding must be used to remove the finish before you can refinish the wood.

Step 1: Vacuum the floor to remove any debris before beginning. Then mop the floor thoroughly with a high quality wood floor cleaner to remove any residue from the floor. This will help prevent the sanding pads from wearing improperly.

Step 2: Attach a sanding pad to the bottom of a floor sander. Start with a medium grit pad, which should be sufficient to remove the penetrating sealant from the wood floor.

Step 3: Use the floor sander to remove the sealant from the floor. Remember to work slowly, but never allow the floor sander to stop in one place on the floor.

TIP: If you are removing a penetrating sealant from parquet floors, try sanding diagonally, going acroos the design. You should sand diagonally in one direction, then sand in the other diagonal direction for a second pass.

Step 4: After you have made one pass with the floor sander, remove the medium grit pad and attach a finer grit pad onto the floor sander. Do one pass on the floor with the finer grit sandpaper on the floor sander.

TIP: After every pass using the floor sander, take a moment and vacuum the floors, removing as much dust as possible. This will extend the life of your floor sander's pads.

Step 5: Continue lowering the grit of the sandpaper used on each subsequent pass on the wood floor. Plan on making five passes in all, working from a medium grit, to very fine grit sandpaper.

Step 6: Use a hand sander to remove any penetrating sealant around the perimeter of the room that the floor sander may have missed. You may only need to use a fine and then extra fine sandpaper in order to remove the sealant from the edges of the room.

Step 7: Use a shop vac to remove any dust from the floor for one last time. Finish cleaning with a tack cloth to remove any remaining residue before applying a new sealant of your choice.