Ok I'm a fairly new homeowner (a year now) and an avid do it yourselfer. This is my first floor refinishing project so I have a lot of questions. I have been reading all over this forum and have gotten some great info so far. I was hoping I could outline what I was planning to do and where I have questions. That way I can hopefully get answers to those questions and you all can tell me if something I'm planning to do is a bad idea.

Here it goes,

Note: My floors are red oak

Sanding:
I will be renting a silverline drum sander , a random orbital sander, and edger from a local rental place. I was planning to just do the first cut with the drum to flatten the field and remove the old finish then switch to a multihead random orbital sander to finish the sanding. The reason I want to do this is that the drum sander scares me a little to be honest but I know I have to use it to get the old floor flat again. Less risk of damaging the floors with the orbital sander.

Then I will clean the entire house of dust and clean out the venting. The finishing will happen on the following weekend so this should allow me time to clean the home on a few different occasions to get all the dust possible.

Finishing:

I will be using Bona Dri Fast stain on the floors, still trying to decide on color. I see that this can be applied with a buffer and that looks like a smart idea. Will that be too hard for a first timer like me to control? It seems like it would be a much better way to go as opposed to rubbing it on.

Then I will finish the floor with Bona Strong or Bona Mega. What is the better way to go on the poly? I know that you do not have to mix the mega so pot life would not be an issue and this sounds good to me but are there draw backs to the Mega. When putting the poly on, I will use a t bar, how do I control the coverage rate? I will put 3 coats on screening between the 2nd and 3rd coat ( is that correct because the screening process has me a little confused). Also shoud I do this with a buffer or a pole sander, do I run a high risk with the buffer of taking off too much material too fast(remember I'm a first timer)?

Then I will let it dry and pray that it will look great.

Any info that you all can give would be great. I'm a smart and handy person so I'm sure that I can do this but I want to make sure I have all the right info before I start.

Thanks

Dan

Dan,

I suggest attempting this process in a small bedroom first, to ensure you have the ability to do a decent job. Some other tips:

Attempt to rent a Clarke EZ-8 drum sander. It has a control lever for lifting the machine off the floor. This is a pro feature that many other types of rental machines do not have.

Applying the stain with a buffer is generally easier and uses less stain. But one still has to hand stain along the edges and corners and odd places. My suggestion is do it by hand and forget the buffer. You will be able to control the application better.

If you've read a lot, you surely read that Mega does not compare to Traffic in looks or durability. Granted, it's easy to apply and cheaper. But I have found it does not live up to it's claims of durability. Traffic is a much better finish. But it is about the most expensive and being water based, one needs to work quickly and do a first rate job. Many find using a quality OMU easier until they get the hang of applying floor finishes.

I recommend applying the stain and finish with a 10" Padco applicator. Of course, when staining, you go in 3' sections and wipe off the excess before the stain dries. Using the Padco applicator will allow to screw it onto a broom handle and it will handle the edges and corners as well as the field. It will work fine for small and medium size areas and is MUCH easier to control for the DIYer.

http://www.padco.com/