How to Refinish Bamboo Floors

A high quality bamboo floor can be refinished using the same techniques used to refinish hardwood floors. Before attempting to refinish your bamboo floor, however, you should be sure that your flooring can indeed be refinished. You should also plan on renting some specialized equipment to make the job easier.

Before beginning check with the manufacturer of your bamboo flooring. Refinishing the floor may void any existing warranty. A floor that show unnatural wear may be replaced by the manufacturer if you have followed the terms of the warranty.

You should also check to see what type of bamboo flooring you have installed. Vertical and strand bamboo flooring are typically easier to refinish than the popular horizontal bamboo flooring. However, even horizontal bamboo flooring can be refinished if you are conservative during the sanding process.

Step 1: Clean the floor thoroughly. Remove any baseboards, molding, or other obstacles that will prevent you from refinishing the bamboo flooring.

Step 2: Sand the bamboo flooring with a floor sander. Use a very fine grit sanding pad. Only sand enough to remove the original finish. Keep the floor sander moving to ensure that you do not over sand certain areas.

Step 3: Sand away any scratches or imperfections lightly by hand. If you have strand or vertical bamboo flooring, you can be a little more vigorous during this step.

Step 4: Clean the bamboo floor with a tack cloth to remove any dust from the sanding.

Step 5: Apply a coat of polyurethane with a paint roller fitted with a long handle attachment. Start with the area furthest away from the door and work your way to the exit while applying the finish. Always maintain a dry edge to avoid streaks. Let the polyurethane dry for 24 hours before continuing.

Step 6: Very lightly sand the polyurethane finish to remove any surface imperfections. Clean the floor with a tack cloth.

Step 7: Apply a second coat of polyurethane, using the same techniques used to apply the first coat.

Step 8: Continue applying coats of polyurethane, waiting for each coat to dry and be lightly sanded before applying the next coat. Four coats of polyurethane is standard for bamboo flooring.