How to Strip and Re-Finish Hardwood Floors

Beautiful hardwood floors are a delight to see in any home. Having hardwood floors allows more light into the room and leaves the room with a cleaner more specious look. This was the look I desired for my home because my daughter and myself have sever allergies and having old carpet all through our house was causing us to have allergy attacks all the time. I knew that under the nasty old carpet, there were solid white oak hardwood floors. These hardwood floors were covered up by the previous owner and stayed in place for 30 years and it was time to make a change.

After some debate, my husband and myself decided to pull up the old carpet in the hallway and see what kind of condition the hardwood floors were in. Surprisingly they were not damaged too bad. Although there was some sever stains from water damage, spillage and pet urine stains. Most people, including myself would think that the stains could not be removed, until I did some research on-line and found a chemical called Oxalic Acid.

Oxalic Acid can be found and purchased on-line at the realmilkpaint.com for a very reasonable price of 6.99 per pound and is called Rainbow Oxalic Acid. Along with the Oxalic Acid and a lot of hard work, we were able to remove all of the stains, including the pet urine stains, which are the hardest to remove. Our results were incredible and are shown in the photographs that are featured with this article.

Re-Finishing hardwood floors is not very expensive at all. We spent 80.00 to rent the sander for 2 days, polyurethane at 15.00 per gallon (3 gallons used), 9.00 for sandpaper and 6.99 for the Oxalic Acid which came to 140.99. We started in the hallway and it turned out so well that we did the rest of the house and kept the coast to a minimum. This can be achieved in three stages that have several steps to each stage. If you decide to hire a contractor to do the job, you will end up paying a fortune by the time they are finished. Remember that there is hours upon hours of labor to complete this job depending on how many areas you are going to do. Also the contractor will charge up to 500.00 to remove the tough stains on the floor. I suggest that you do it yourself and take your time, this can be achieved in three stages with each stage having several steps.

Stage One: Preparation & Sanding

Step One: Remove all rugs and furniture in the area. If you are pulling up the old carpet be sure to remove all the tack strips, staples and nails that get left behind. Make sure that you do not miss any, this will tear up the sandpaper when you start to sand the floor.

Step Two: You will need several old sheets and get them fully damp, hang sheets in the all of the doorways. This will keep the sawdust from traveling into the adjacent room, it will also absorb some of the dust.

Step Three: You will need to rent a sander from an equipment rental store. Traditional drum sanders are the most commonly used. Make sure to get a good supply of sandpaper in grits ranging from 36-100.

Step Four: Make sure floor is free of any debris, attach the heaviest sandpaper to the sander you rented. The heavy grit sandpaper is to remove the old varnish.

Step Five: Place the sander along one side of a wall and turn on the sander, start moving the sander along the floor following the grain of the wood. The sander can be pushed or pulled across the floor as long as you use smooth even strokes and always keep the sander in motion. If you were to let the sander sit in one place too long, it will leave a grove in the wood that will be impossible to remove. After you have started sanding the floor, make sure that you make 2-3 passes on each strip to ensure the removal of all the old varnish.

Step Six: After the varnish has been stripped from the floor, you will remove the heavy grit sandpaper and replace it with the fine grit sandpaper. This will buff out any leftover scratches and lines.

Step Seven: Using a shop vacuum suck up all of the standing dust from the sanding process.

Step Eight: Take the Rainbow Oxalic Acid you purchased and mix it up according to the directions on the label. Once you have mixed the acid with the warm water, you will apply the solution directly onto the stains using a fine paint brush. Brush on the acid with smooth even strokes, let dry for one hour. Once the acid dries it becomes crystallized into a shinny white powder. You will need to mop this up with plain warm water, do not use a sponge mop. You may have to repeat this process 2-3 times to get the desired results, but it will remove all of the stains.

Step Nine: Using the floor sander and the fine grit sandpaper, go over the entire area for a smooth even surface and vacuum the remaining dust.

Step Ten: Using plain warm water and a cloth mop, wash the entire floor with the warm water and let dry completely.

Stage Two: The staining process

Step One: Not all people will want to put a stain on the floors and will want to keep it with a more natural look. If that is the case, then skip this step and move straight to the finishing stage. Open all the windows to allow for ventilation, the fumes in the stain can cause you to get lightheaded and possibly pass out if you do not have the proper ventilation.

Step Two: Open the can of stain and stir it with a paint stick.

Step Three: Using a fine paint brush, apply the stain going with the grain of the wood and make sure to use smooth even strokes. Do not allow the stain to drip off the brush, this will cause spots on the finished floor.

Step Four: Allow the stain to dry. If you desire a deeper look apply another coat of stain. Otherwise, move on to the next stage.

Stage Three: Finishing (Polyurethane)

Step One: Open the container and stir the contents. Do not shake the can of polyurethane, this will cause bubbles in it that will show up on the floor when you apply it.

Step Two: Using a fine paint brush or roller, apply the polyurethane to the floor, going with the grain of the wood and using long, smooth even strokes.

Step Three: After you have applied the polyurethane, you need to allow it to completely dry. This will depend on what brand of polyurethane you are using. Usually it will take 5-8 hours. When I did my floors, I let the polyurethane dry overnight.

Step Four; Apply a second coat if desired. Repeat step three and allow for another 24 hours of drying time.

Step Five: Put the furniture back in its place.

Now that you have completed the project, you should have beautiful shinny and smooth floors. Re-finishing your wood floors will not only look more appealing, but it will also up the value of you home. Along with increasing the value of the home, you will have reduced the allergens in the house by 80%. This alone is worth doing the job.

References for this article came from miniwax.com and the realmilkpaint.com