You have been considering refinishing your hardwood floors. but don't know where to start. Here is a brief outline of what steps you need to take to clean. repair and refinish your beautiful old hardwood floors. without spending a fortune. These steps will give you a floor that will look like your floor looked when you first installed it.

Even though some say that you should sand your floors before you refinish. this is not necessarily the case. Over time. hardwook floors develop a certain look that actually makes them more attractive than newer floors. and sanding gets rid of that character. By sanding. you also remove some of the surface of the wood. so your hardwood floors would actually become a little thinner. If you sand before you refinish. you have to make sure to remove every particle of the sanding dust. since this dust can ruin the finish if it remains because you will have a light grit on the surface.

There is a better alternative to sanding a hardwood floor. one that is less expensive and easier to do. The character of the floor is maintained. the wood is not thinned down. and the surface is still protected. This is a preferable solution. The first thing you have to do is repair any gauges or cracks in the wood. It may be necessary to replace badly damaged pieces. If so. it is best to find wood that is of the same age. grade and type as your existing floor. Sand the repaired area lightly. and make sure you vacuum thoroughly. Once you have made repairs. you will clean the floor thoroughly with a mild solution of trisodium phosphate if the surface is especially dirty. If not. plain water will do. Do not wet the new wood in this process. Let the floor dry for a day or two and then use wax remover on all of the parts that have not been replaced or repaired. Let the floor sit for another few days. You will now need lacquer thinner. denatured alcohol and a screw top container that is non-corrosive. Next. you need a good quality oil finish that matches the original color of the wood flooring. chemical proof finishing pads and pan. a floor polishing stick and. last but not least. a floor polishing machine fitted with steel wool pads. Mix the lacquer thinner with the denatured alcohol in a half to half mixture in the corrosive proof container and pour it into the corrosive proof pan. Doing one small part of the floor at time. treat the floor with the solution and then stain it with the oil. Let it dry thoroughly for two to three days. You can know seal the floor with a polyurethane finish. This is the best choice for good protection. especially if you apply three coats. At the end of this process. you will end up with a hardwood floor that looks like the one you originally had.