I have hardwood floors in a house that I will be renting out.  The floors 
are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be "lightly refinished". 
By that I mean that I think that doing something like a light steel wool 
cleaning and then applying a coat or two of polyurethane will work.  I don't 
think they need any sanding, and I think sanding would take too much off. 
They don't have to end up being perfect, just cleaned up and a protective 
coating of polyurethane put on top.

My question is about the steel wool or other similar cleaning/buffing.  How 
do people do this and/or what do they use?  Is it okay to use one of those 
rotary type floor cleaning machines with a steel wool pad or other type of 
pad for the cleaning part?  Is there something else that may be better or 
easier such as those square type orbital or vibration machines that places 
like Home Depot rent out that are usually next to the belt style floor 
sanders?

"Jay-T" <J...@xkljcvbnm,.lkm> wrote in message
news:hg5p5p$auh$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
> I have hardwood floors in a house that I will be renting out.
The floors
> are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be "lightly
refinished".
> By that I mean that I think that doing something like a light
steel wool
> cleaning and then applying a coat or two of polyurethane will
work.  I don't
> think they need any sanding, and I think sanding would take too
much off.
> They don't have to end up being perfect, just cleaned up and a
protective
> coating of polyurethane put on top.
>
> My question is about the steel wool or other similar
cleaning/buffing.  How
> do people do this and/or what do they use?  Is it okay to use
one of those
> rotary type floor cleaning machines with a steel wool pad or
other type of
> pad for the cleaning part?  Is there something else that may be
better or
> easier such as those square type orbital or vibration machines
that places
> like Home Depot rent out that are usually next to the belt
style floor
> sanders?
>

Well i have experimented with  all of those things and other at
some point.

I've done the floor refinishing belt sanders. Looks great, levels
the wood, it removes alot of wood. I probably would only do this
if i planned to stay in the house or resale.

The rotary polisher/sander, i found, can create more problems
than it fixes on wood floors.  First is if you plan to take the
original surface to the wood  there is the issue of cutting
across the wood grain. Second is  they require some finese so
that you do not scorch , cup   or create swirls etc.. I think the
rotary is ok to scuff up the original poly surface or maybe
remove a layer of wax.  Keep it moving and use light hand to
drift it and it does not get into corners.

I used the vibrating pad sander from HD to refinish an oak floor
once. I wanted to remove an old (orange varnish) finish down to
the bare oak, stained the wood with a light oak stain to even the
color and i covered with the HD water based satin poly-coat.
The vibrating pad sander was  ***slooooow**** going, which is
good (as it takes longer to make a mistake) but it took ***alot
*** longer than i anticipated. I started with the coarse scratchy
nylon pads. They just gummed up and barely scuffed up the
surface. After a while i purchased an assortment of the HD pads
from 40 grit paper up to 150 grit paper and medium and coarse
nylon pads. I ended up using the same method as the traditional
belt finisher and it worked pretty good. Coarse first , then
vaccuum , then medium  and so on up to the nylon pads .... It was
just very very very slow going. If memory serves it took almost a
whole day just to remove the original varnish to the wood in one
15x18 room and it proabably could have used  another pass. I
probably should have skipped the 40 grit and started with 80 as
the 40 did create some noticeable scratches that were slow to
dissapear.  Some experimenting will help decide what you need. HD
said i could refund any unused pads.


Other not so great but viable idea .. ?
I once worked with  a rental/slum lord type that would refinish
the rental's wood floors by scraping and hand sanding any rough
spots, then rough up the surface with the orbital you mentioned,
then coat the floors with stain tinted polyurethane. Depending on
the roughness of the rental,  he had 5 gallon buckets of stained
poly from light oak up to dark walnut brown (which looked like
brown paint).

YMMV
hth
robb

On Dec 14, 1:56=A0pm, "robb"  wrote:
> "Jay-T" <J...@xkljcvbnm,.lkm> wrote in message
>
> news:hg5p5p$auh$1...@news.eternal-september.org...> I have hardwood floors i=
n a house that I will be renting out.
> The floors
> > are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be "lightly
> refinished".
> > By that I mean that I think that doing something like a light
> steel wool
> > cleaning and then applying a coat or two of polyurethane will
> work. =A0I don't
> > think they need any sanding, and I think sanding would take too
> much off.
> > They don't have to end up being perfect, just cleaned up and a
> protective
> > coating of polyurethane put on top.
>
> > My question is about the steel wool or other similar
>
> cleaning/buffing. =A0How
>
> > do people do this and/or what do they use? =A0Is it okay to use
> one of those
> > rotary type floor cleaning machines with a steel wool pad or
> other type of
> > pad for the cleaning part? =A0Is there something else that may be
> better or
> > easier such as those square type orbital or vibration machines
> that places
> > like Home Depot rent out that are usually next to the belt
> style floor
> > sanders?
>
> Well i have experimented with =A0all of those things and other at
> some point.
>
> I've done the floor refinishing belt sanders. Looks great, levels
> the wood, it removes alot of wood. I probably would only do this
> if i planned to stay in the house or resale.
>
> The rotary polisher/sander, i found, can create more problems
> than it fixes on wood floors. =A0First is if you plan to take the
> original surface to the wood =A0there is the issue of cutting
> across the wood grain. Second is =A0they require some finese so
> that you do not scorch , cup =A0 or create swirls etc.. I think the
> rotary is ok to scuff up the original poly surface or maybe
> remove a layer of wax. =A0Keep it moving and use light hand to
> drift it and it does not get into corners.
>
> I used the vibrating pad sander from HD to refinish an oak floor
> once. I wanted to remove an old (orange varnish) finish down to
> the bare oak, stained the wood with a light oak stain to even the
> color and i covered with the HD water based satin poly-coat.
> The vibrating pad sander was =A0***slooooow**** going, which is
> good (as it takes longer to make a mistake) but it took ***alot
> *** longer than i anticipated. I started with the coarse scratchy
> nylon pads. They just gummed up and barely scuffed up the
> surface. After a while i purchased an assortment of the HD pads
> from 40 grit paper up to 150 grit paper and medium and coarse
> nylon pads. I ended up using the same method as the traditional
> belt finisher and it worked pretty good. Coarse first , then
> vaccuum , then medium =A0and so on up to the nylon pads .... It was
> just very very very slow going. If memory serves it took almost a
> whole day just to remove the original varnish to the wood in one
> 15x18 room and it proabably could have used =A0another pass. I
> probably should have skipped the 40 grit and started with 80 as
> the 40 did create some noticeable scratches that were slow to
> dissapear. =A0Some experimenting will help decide what you need. HD
> said i could refund any unused pads.
>
> Other not so great but viable idea .. ?
> I once worked with =A0a rental/slum lord type that would refinish
> the rental's wood floors by scraping and hand sanding any rough
> spots, then rough up the surface with the orbital you mentioned,
> then coat the floors with stain tinted polyurethane. Depending on
> the roughness of the rental, =A0he had 5 gallon buckets of stained
> poly from light oak up to dark walnut brown (which looked like
> brown paint).
>
> YMMV
> hth
> robb

Another factor to consider is since it's a rental and fully tax
deductible, it may be worth it to get a couple of quotes on having it
professionally done.

On Dec 15, 1:56=A0am, t...@optonline.net wrote:
> On Dec 14, 1:56=A0pm, "robb"  wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Jay-T" <J...@xkljcvbnm,.lkm> wrote in message
>
> >news:hg5p5p$auh$1...@news.eternal-september.org...> I have hardwood floors =
in a house that I will be renting out.
> > The floors
> > > are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be "lightly
> > refinished".
> > > By that I mean that I think that doing something like a light
> > steel wool
> > > cleaning and then applying a coat or two of polyurethane will
> > work. =A0I don't
> > > think they need any sanding, and I think sanding would take too
> > much off.
> > > They don't have to end up being perfect, just cleaned up and a
> > protective
> > > coating of polyurethane put on top.
>
> > > My question is about the steel wool or other similar
>
> > cleaning/buffing. =A0How
>
> > > do people do this and/or what do they use? =A0Is it okay to use
> > one of those
> > > rotary type floor cleaning machines with a steel wool pad or
> > other type of
> > > pad for the cleaning part? =A0Is there something else that may be
> > better or
> > > easier such as those square type orbital or vibration machines
> > that places
> > > like Home Depot rent out that are usually next to the belt
> > style floor
> > > sanders?
>
> > Well i have experimented with =A0all of those things and other at
> > some point.
>
> > I've done the floor refinishing belt sanders. Looks great, levels
> > the wood, it removes alot of wood. I probably would only do this
> > if i planned to stay in the house or resale.
>
> > The rotary polisher/sander, i found, can create more problems
> > than it fixes on wood floors. =A0First is if you plan to take the
> > original surface to the wood =A0there is the issue of cutting
> > across the wood grain. Second is =A0they require some finese so
> > that you do not scorch , cup =A0 or create swirls etc.. I think the
> > rotary is ok to scuff up the original poly surface or maybe
> > remove a layer of wax. =A0Keep it moving and use light hand to
> > drift it and it does not get into corners.
>
> > I used the vibrating pad sander from HD to refinish an oak floor
> > once. I wanted to remove an old (orange varnish) finish down to
> > the bare oak, stained the wood with a light oak stain to even the
> > color and i covered with the HD water based satin poly-coat.
> > The vibrating pad sander was =A0***slooooow**** going, which is
> > good (as it takes longer to make a mistake) but it took ***alot
> > *** longer than i anticipated. I started with the coarse scratchy
> > nylon pads. They just gummed up and barely scuffed up the
> > surface. After a while i purchased an assortment of the HD pads
> > from 40 grit paper up to 150 grit paper and medium and coarse
> > nylon pads. I ended up using the same method as the traditional
> > belt finisher and it worked pretty good. Coarse first , then
> > vaccuum , then medium =A0and so on up to the nylon pads .... It was
> > just very very very slow going. If memory serves it took almost a
> > whole day just to remove the original varnish to the wood in one
> > 15x18 room and it proabably could have used =A0another pass. I
> > probably should have skipped the 40 grit and started with 80 as
> > the 40 did create some noticeable scratches that were slow to
> > dissapear. =A0Some experimenting will help decide what you need. HD
> > said i could refund any unused pads.
>
> > Other not so great but viable idea .. ?
> > I once worked with =A0a rental/slum lord type that would refinish
> > the rental's wood floors by scraping and hand sanding any rough
> > spots, then rough up the surface with the orbital you mentioned,
> > then coat the floors with stain tinted polyurethane. Depending on
> > the roughness of the rental, =A0he had 5 gallon buckets of stained
> > poly from light oak up to dark walnut brown (which looked like
> > brown paint).
>
> > YMMV
> > hth
> > robb
>
> Another factor to consider is since it's a rental and fully tax
> deductible, it may be worth it to get a couple of quotes on having it
> professionally done.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

A pro can usualy do it fairly cheap since he owns the equipment, I
find after all the time renting driving and figuring it out its worth
using a pro for a quick recoat. I have used a polesander and avoided
rental with cheap labor, but you need cheap labor.

Thanks for all the info.  Sounds like you have tried a lot of options.  I 
was thinking about the vibrating sander idea but from what you wrote it 
seems like it would be too slow.  I have a lot that needs to be done -- a 
living room, dining room, 3 bedrooms, and a hallway.

robb wrote:
> "Jay-T" <J...@xkljcvbnm,.lkm> wrote in message
> news:hg5p5p$auh$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
>> I have hardwood floors in a house that I will be renting out. The
>> floors are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be
>> "lightly refinished". By that I mean that I think that doing
>> something like a light steel wool cleaning and then applying a coat
>> or two of polyurethane will work.  I don't think they need any
>> sanding, and I think sanding would take too much off. They don't
>> have to end up being perfect, just cleaned up and a protective
>> coating of polyurethane put on top.
>>
>> My question is about the steel wool or other similar
>> cleaning/buffing.  How do people do this and/or what do they use?
>> Is it okay to use one of those rotary type floor cleaning machines
>> with a steel wool pad or other type of pad for the cleaning part?
>> Is there something else that may be better or easier such as those
>> square type orbital or vibration machines that places like Home
>> Depot rent out that are usually next to the belt style floor sanders?
>>
>
> Well i have experimented with  all of those things and other at
> some point.
>
> I've done the floor refinishing belt sanders. Looks great, levels
> the wood, it removes alot of wood. I probably would only do this
> if i planned to stay in the house or resale.
>
> The rotary polisher/sander, i found, can create more problems
> than it fixes on wood floors.  First is if you plan to take the
> original surface to the wood  there is the issue of cutting
> across the wood grain. Second is  they require some finese so
> that you do not scorch , cup   or create swirls etc.. I think the
> rotary is ok to scuff up the original poly surface or maybe
> remove a layer of wax.  Keep it moving and use light hand to
> drift it and it does not get into corners.
>
> I used the vibrating pad sander from HD to refinish an oak floor
> once. I wanted to remove an old (orange varnish) finish down to
> the bare oak, stained the wood with a light oak stain to even the
> color and i covered with the HD water based satin poly-coat.
> The vibrating pad sander was  ***slooooow**** going, which is
> good (as it takes longer to make a mistake) but it took ***alot
> *** longer than i anticipated. I started with the coarse scratchy
> nylon pads. They just gummed up and barely scuffed up the
> surface. After a while i purchased an assortment of the HD pads
> from 40 grit paper up to 150 grit paper and medium and coarse
> nylon pads. I ended up using the same method as the traditional
> belt finisher and it worked pretty good. Coarse first , then
> vaccuum , then medium  and so on up to the nylon pads .... It was
> just very very very slow going. If memory serves it took almost a
> whole day just to remove the original varnish to the wood in one
> 15x18 room and it proabably could have used  another pass. I
> probably should have skipped the 40 grit and started with 80 as
> the 40 did create some noticeable scratches that were slow to
> dissapear.  Some experimenting will help decide what you need. HD
> said i could refund any unused pads.
>
>
> Other not so great but viable idea .. ?
> I once worked with  a rental/slum lord type that would refinish
> the rental's wood floors by scraping and hand sanding any rough
> spots, then rough up the surface with the orbital you mentioned,
> then coat the floors with stain tinted polyurethane. Depending on
> the roughness of the rental,  he had 5 gallon buckets of stained
> poly from light oak up to dark walnut brown (which looked like
> brown paint).
>
> YMMV
> hth
> robb 

t...@optonline.net wrote:
> On Dec 14, 1:56 pm, "robb"  wrote:
>> "Jay-T" <J...@xkljcvbnm,.lkm> wrote in message
>>
>> news:hg5p5p$auh$1...@news.eternal-september.org...> I have hardwood
>> floors in a house that I will be renting out. The floors
>>> are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be "lightly
>> refinished".....

> Another factor to consider is since it's a rental and fully tax
> deductible, it may be worth it to get a couple of quotes on having it
> professionally done.

Good point.  I am planning on getting a couple of estimates.  And, while 
doing that, I hope to get more of an idea of what the options are and how 
they would do it.  If they say it's just a quick clean-em-up and apply 
polyurethane, I may end up just doing it myself. 

ransley wrote:
> On Dec 15, 1:56 am, t...@optonline.net wrote:
>> On Dec 14, 1:56 pm, "robb"  wrote:
>>> "Jay-T" <J...@xkljcvbnm,.lkm> wrote in message
>>
>>> news:hg5p5p$auh$1...@news.eternal-september.org...> I have hardwood
>>> floors in a house that I will be renting out. The floors
>>>> are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be "lightly
>>> refinished".

> A pro can usualy do it fairly cheap since he owns the equipment, I
> find after all the time renting driving and figuring it out its worth
> using a pro for a quick recoat. I have used a polesander and avoided
> rental with cheap labor, but you need cheap labor.

I agree.  If a pro can come in and knock it out for a reasonable price, I 
may just do that.

I hadn't even thought about the pole sander idea.  For some of the rooms, 
they need very little in terms of clean up, so I may be able to just do a 
quick light sanding with a pole sander and the recoat with polyurethane. 

Jay-T wrote:
> t...@optonline.net wrote:
>> On Dec 14, 1:56 pm, "robb"  wrote:
>>> "Jay-T" <J...@xkljcvbnm,.lkm> wrote in message
>>>
>>> news:hg5p5p$auh$1...@news.eternal-september.org...> I have hardwood
>>> floors in a house that I will be renting out. The floors
>>>> are in fairly good shape, but they should at least be "lightly
>>> refinished".....
> 
>> Another factor to consider is since it's a rental and fully tax
>> deductible, it may be worth it to get a couple of quotes on having it
>> professionally done.
> 
> Good point.  I am planning on getting a couple of estimates.  And, while 
> doing that, I hope to get more of an idea of what the options are and how 
> they would do it.  If they say it's just a quick clean-em-up and apply 
> polyurethane, I may end up just doing it myself. 
> 
> 

Nobody else said it, so I will- get some of the crud stripper from 
Bruce, or another name brand, and clean the floors first, with the 
rotary buffer and the appropriate pad covers. A lot of what you are 
seeing as damage may just be crudded up wax or consumer-grade floor 
polish applied by previous occupant. Same place you rent the buffer 
should have the stuff in gallon cans, and the pads to apply it with. 
I've seen really nasty looking floors come back well enough that they 
only needed minor spot sanding and touchup.

--
aem sends...