Hi all,
Just wondering how difficult it would be to completely sand/stain/finish my floors. They are tongue and groove pine, and have this deep bevel to them which forms these grooves, as well as square-cut nails along the joists. Some sections of the floors have more than two or three layers of poly/shellac/whatever they used...the section in the picture only has one layer and is probably the nicest section because it’s been under a rug for the better part of three decades. Usually you see these types of boards as paneling, siding, or ceilings, but for some reason the builders chose them for the floors and decided to put a billion square cut nails in them to keep them down!
Anyways, I’m wondering how hard (expensive/labor intensive) it would be to refinish these floors, including sanding down the grooves between the boards and sanding over the nails. Also any tips on how to finish the floors so they don’t turn super orange over time? Something other than oil based poly, maybe? Let me know if more pictures are needed. Many thanks.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f0drwm0xcr7qj ... s.jpg?dl=0

The cut nails in the surface preclude sanding with a drum or belt sander unless all the nails are set below the surface. To keep the original intent of having an antique looking floor you will need to do a chemical stripping. Paint strippers can remove the finish on the surface and in the grooves. A triangle scraper will pull the softened finish from the grooves. Hand sanding the whole thing will be good insurance that the finish is completely removed. Once the finish is removed you can either stain the bare wood or use a colored finish to get the color you want. I like a light walnut color and for pine I like to mix in some stain with a red pigment to keep a warm look. The color of the darker knots looks fine with me.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry if you couldn’t see the picture, here is a link that should work:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2igljivf9q33p ... 6.jpg?dl=0
Don’t know if that affects your answer or not.

If a sander goes over these nails a dull streak will be created, or the paper will be shredded.