Pine Floorboards Sanding - A Quick DIY Guide

First things first, let us start by reminding you that pine floorboards sanding is a better task left to home improvement and floor sanding companies that offer professional floor restoration services. Especially if you are not confident enough in your ability to handle such a delicate and complex task and you want to save both your time and effort.

Having said that, we can understand if you feel that you would prefer to do it yourself rather than pay for a professional floorboard sanding service. Here are a few tips to help you with your DIY pinewood sanding project:

• Start by renting high-quality floorboards sanding equipment and machines to save your time, energy, and elbow grease. You will need two sanding machines: a belt sander for the entire surface of the floor and an edger or an orbital sander for all corners and hard to access areas.
• Before you start floorboard sanding you should purchase sandpaper with different grits if you want to achieve the same effect you will get with a professional floorboard sanding service. You should at least work with four levels of grit. You can go for 40 grit, 60 grit, 80 grit and 120 grit sandpaper. This range comprises medium-coarse to very fine textures and covers everything the floor’s surface will require as a treatment.

• Remove baseboards and trims with a trim pry bar, numbering them carefully for easy reinstallation before you start. After that, check the floor for nails or screws that protrude above the surface. Secure them back before you begin floorboard sanding. Fill any gaps between the floorboards with a solvent-based resin if they are small. Fill larger gaps with narrow wood strips that match the colour of the rest of the floor.
• Put on safety glasses and a dust mask, even if the floorboard sanding machine has an inbuilt dust collector. Fit a medium grit sanding disk, which would be the 40 grit, on the pad of the upright orbital sander according to the manufacturer's directions. Start at one end of the room. Turn on the machine and move forward, holding the machine in front of you. You should move in the direction of the wood’s grain. When you reach the opposite end of the room, turn the machine off and move to the adjoining planks, turn around and begin sanding again. Don’t press down the machine or treat one spot for too long or the floorboards can easily get damaged. Use the edger sander in the same way, passing it over the floor in the direction of the wood’s grain and not stopping in any area for too long.
• Sand the floor using the 60, 80 and 120 grit levels one after another, remembering to vacuum the floor in between each round with the floorboard sanding machine. After the final in-depth vacuum, apply a staining or painting product of your choice according to the manufacturer’s instructions, always applying in the direction of the grain. Wipe off the excess product.
• After the stain dries completely, apply a semi-gloss finish to the floor with a medium pile roller. Let it dry and sand it with the 150 grit sandpaper. Vacuum and repeat as many times as specified by the manufacturer.