Floorboards: Sanding off stuck-on paper + Upstairs floor sanding vibrations

[Cubist]

Well, except the elusive 10mm….

Aww.. come on Kearn, a bit cryptic that and If I do any more head scratching I'm gonna look like, as well as sound like, Yul Brynner!
The youngsters can look him up.

 

[Lacan07]

Thanks @Lacan07 I’m going to ditch the belt sander altogether now. I’m hoping to hire the hand held sander or buy it if it’s cheap enough. Im based in Kingston Surrey/London if you know a place?

Regarding mistakes in the flooring: In our main bedroom, the floors look sanded down already when we pulled back the carpet. Looks like the previous owner Attempted to sand the floors.

But there are areas that appear as though they may have burned through the wood a little with the sander. I found a few patches of this. So I’m a bit annoyed with that. I’m still going to sand it down with the hand sander and see what to do. But I think I might have to replace those boards before staining.

I also want to stain my floorboards to a golden oak colour. Do you know which stains are best to use by any chance? I’ve attached a photo of the floorboards that appear sanded down already. I don’t know why, but they have an orange hue to them (or maybe my eyes deceive me). I definitely don’t want orange floorboards!

The floors are a bit dusty atm but one of the photos shows the actual colour beneath it. I think it’ll be the last one.

Thank you.

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There's nothing wrong with those floors, all perfectly normal. It looks like soft pine to me, easy to sand but not so easy to stain, so don't fret too much about any blemishes at this stage. I wouldn't aim for 'perfection' so much, try to embrace a bit of 'Boho'.

Sanding is important so make sure you go through the grits and hand finish your final pass. With regard to stains I would stick to a system within a brand, whether they be professional or DIY. Don't try and mix and match. For example if your feeling flush You could try Morrells Lightfast water stains and finish with their recommended varnish. That way you can't screw up. I think someone on eBay sells the Morrells stains in tester sizes, (I have a few knocking about I think) don't bother asking Morrells, they're tight wads! Bona on the other hand will happily send you samples if you contact their technical department.

Do make tests on your original boards if possible. There's many variations of pine and they tend to differ greatly. You can get some lovely golden oak stain/tones for sure. I found getting a decent dark stain like walnut was quite challenging, the mid to lighter tones are definitely easier to find.

 

[Lacan07]

@Lacan07 I also found the Festools on B&Q. Which one do you recommend?
https://www.diy.com/tools-equipment/power-tools/sanders.cat?Brand=Festool

Also, can I use these hand sanders on wood furniture, as I have a few upcycling projects I want to work on

Thank you

None of those. Its the top of the range Rotex:

Festool Geared eccentric sander RO 150 FEQ-Plus 230V ROTEX online

Festool Geared eccentric sander RO 150 FEQ-Plus 230V ROTEX â Cost-efficient 3-in-1 principle â Coarse sanding â Fine sanding â â All information directly from the manufacturer ⨠www.festool.co.uk

www.festool.co.uk

You'll probably find it cheaper with a Google search. You'll need to sort some dust extraction, the Festool extractor is incredibly expensive. I just used my Nilfisk hoover and an adapter I got from the Axminister tools website.

Yes, its great for all kinds of projects and with dust extractors theres zero dust so you can work indoors