Hello forum!

I am a 20 year veteran of the automotive refinish industry,but have never refinished a floor. Just pulled up the carpets in my newly acquired 1922 craftsman and found some nice VG fir.Though the existing finish has been worn through in a few spots I am considering a light sand a recoat instead of stripping completely. someone got sloppy while repainting these rooms years ago so I need to do a light sand to remove spilled pain. One of the rooms looks great,but appears to have a coat of wax over the old oil finish. My question is how to effectively remove the wax from that room,and what is a good DIY finish to use? Also,what grit is preferred for a recoat where you are not removing all of the finish? Is a 150 grit too coarse? Because the rooms,and hallway are small,I am planning to just use my random orbit palm sander and some sweat.

Any advice is much appreciated!!

Cheers!

B.

once a floor is waxed the only way to completely remove the wax is a full sanding. you can test for wax with some mineral sprits or water for that matter. Also you put a piece of 150 down on some wax you might get a foot before the paper is clogged up and useless.
Recoating a old finished floor usually id go with a 180 screen or the Norton sandollars. They are awesome for intercoat abrasion. Vg fir is a softer wood so it should sand pretty easy once the old finish/wax is removed. id HIGHLY recommend going and renting a clarke 18" square buffer for the job you want to do, a orbital sander on a entire floor is like digging a ditch with a spoon.

oh and if you can paint a car you can do a fine job of finishing a floor. Just remember the finest people sand on bare wood is 120grit anything finer and the wood starts to burnish. in between coats 150 to 220 is the norm.

Kevin-

Thanks kindly for the response,and the tips. I will take your advice and rent a sander. I'm guessing the square pad vibrating sander is what you would recommend. These floors do not have much finish left on them,so I am reluctant to use the belt/drum sander as I dont want to take off too much wood. Can you suggest a grit sequence? What would be the coarsest starting grit? I was thinking 80,as the finish seems to sand easily by hand- so maybe 80-100-120?

Also,can you recommend a few good DIY finish options in water and oil? I am interested in a very natural look in terms of sheen. So likely a satin,with a very low ml thickness once applied. I have refinished some furniture in the pat with a minwax,satin "wipe on poly" and I really liked the finish, it seemed to be more" in" the wood than "on" the wood.

Lastly,how important is it to remove ALL of the existing finish? It is worn through in some of the higher traffic areas,but overall not in really bad condition.

Thanks again for the help

Cheers!

Brian

DIY is exactly that...DIY..which is found in any Box store /hardware etc..there is no difference in working pro or DIY product.

just skill and patience and the ability to do a good job..

sanding wax will require rough sanding..so plan to cut 3 times..usually an open coat or 20-3 grit paper,than to a 40 than 80 will be good.

if its worn enough you can go 40-80 possibly...

this isn't car painting...its floor sanding;)

Hey,we do a tonne of waxed floors.The protection is superior to any poly or waterborne finish. You can totally strip that wax with pure white vinegar on a polisher with a green/maroon pad.Even if you completely refinish the floors with poly or W/B ,theres no guarantee that that wax between the board will not cause adhesion problems.You may want to consider finishing with wax or hard wax oil and you won't have those adhesion problems.Wax you can buff to desired sheen and hard wax oil is typically matte.Hope this helps ...

Just wanted to say thanks to those that posted. I ended up stripping the floor with a Clarke 18" sander,coating with Bona OMU Dri Fast sealer,and am just about to apply the last coat of Bona Mega.

Its come up very well,and I am very happy with the results. The waterborne finish is quite amazing,but for the next project,the dining room,I am planning on trying a drum sander as the 18" took a fort night.

Thanks again