Things to know about Floor Sanding and Polishing
For floor sanding and polishing it is important to understand the process being undertaken. Whether this is because you intend to do the sanding and polishing yourself, or have hired a company to do it, it is still quite important to know what is happening. Without this knowledge it really won’t be possible to estimate if the company you’ve chosen are really doing things how they should be doing them. And that’s information you want to have.
The first step of the process is getting rid of any coatings on the floor. This can be done by using a belt sander or a drum sander but can also be done using sandpaper by hand (though it will be a really labour intensive process). During this phase it is important not only to remove any coatings but to remove any roughness in the floor such as protrusions. Choosing the right sandpaper means knowing the grit level that is needed. Lower grit count means the sandpaper is rougher. Most floor will need sandpaper of 40-grit but really coarse floors can need 24-grit sandpaper. 24-grit is usually a necessity with floors made of recycled wood. Floors are not all even surfaces and the edges of floors can be hard to manage to sand if using a belt or drum sander. This is especially true in houses with fancy skirting. Another piece of equipment called a belt sander is used for edges of the floor (it even contains a sanding disk called a floor edger). However, it is entirely possibly to sand by hand in these areas, especially in the corner where the machine does not easily reach. Some professionals have a triangular sanding machine which is designed specifically to reach the corners. Once the floor is sanded down so there are no protrusions or unevenness, this means the sanding process is complete. At this point the floor is ready for coating. Coating is similar to the process for painting, even using a roller and a brush and being applied from a roll tray. The brush is especially important for the edges which remain hard to reach by the roller. |
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During the coating process, it is likely that the coating will not have been applied evenly. Hence it is once again necessary to sand again using an orbital sander. For this sanding, the grade of sandpaper is much finer since using a grade that is too rough would wear away the coating. The range of sandpaper to be used would be between 120 to 150 grit. It is expected that an eight-hour wait should be undertaken before applying at least two more coats. The further coating will need to be sanded as well to have a smooth floor.
By having the knowledge that these are the steps which need to be undertaken then it is easy to see when something out of place is happening. While these are broad steps, they still show a process that should be followed and can be easily supervised.
Call us today on (03) 8592 4725
By having the knowledge that these are the steps which need to be undertaken then it is easy to see when something out of place is happening. While these are broad steps, they still show a process that should be followed and can be easily supervised.
Call us today on (03) 8592 4725