How To Sand Polyurethane Floors

Lightly sand with a dull 120 to 150 grit abrasive screen or 2 steel wool under a heavy floor buffer.

How to sand polyurethane floors.

Polyurethane is a coating applied by brush to wood surfaces usually tabletops to create a shiny surface that also acts as protection against scratches. Don t finish on the same day you sand. If adding one or two more coats lightly sand the floor between coats with an abrasive pad for water based polyurethane or steel wood oil based material. Under the piece to be finished i spread out 6 mil poly to protect the floor from drips and spills and make cleanup easy.

Before the finishing starts i vacuum the project the workbench and the floor. Can polyurethane floors be recoated. The first coat needs the most sanding to appear smooth. Hand sand corners edges and under cabinet kick plates.

I ll reuse these sheets several times then toss them. And if the area is small you can use a pole sander or a short sanding paper. Refinishing sanding staining polyurethane for hardwood oak floors. Alternate between edges and the center of the floor every 10 12 minutes because if the polyurethane edge dries the place where you left off will show.

To give the subsequent poly layers something to bond to sand lightly between coats with 320 grit sandpaper wrapped around a hard block. After the third coat sand with 320 grit then 400 and finally 600 grit sandpaper. Don t worry if it doesn t look as flawless as you d like at first. The tack cloth will remove small particles of wood dust created by the light sanding.

If you are going to use polyurethane in a large area it is advisable to sand the floor with rough sandpaper. If the surface does receive light scratches after application it is usually only in the layers of polyurethane and not the wood surface itself. Clean the sanded wood surface with a tack cloth before applying the first coat of polyurethane. To start the project sand the wood surface with a 320 or 400 grit sandpaper to remove minor surface defects from the wood.

Because polyurethane creates a coat of polymer over the hardwood floor it will need an inter coat scratch minimum of one time during the process. The dust stays in the air.