Sanding parquet floors must be performed in super correct way, otherwise it will be damaged, but not sanded – here is the pro tips on how to sand parquet flooring.
Being good at DIY you may know that laying the parquet flooring is only half the battle – it needs high quality processing: alignment, polishing and treatment with lacquer. Today the market of construction materials is ready to offer the customers a wide range of quality tools for sanding parquet flooring. And then the question arrives: should I take advantage of the good old sandpaper or buy a good parquet grinding machine? The fact is – the sandpaper removes chips well, but special professional devices can be configured so that their shot is very thin, so it will be barely visible on the parquet layer. So, here are the most important tips on how to sand parquet flooring with your own hands.
Equipment for sanding the parquet may vary. Let’s talk about the most common of them.
Most common sanding devices
- Drum sanders. They are most widely used. This is a versatile tool for sanding parquet flooring. This device scrapes the flooring and grind it. For the grinding drum machine you can use any consumables abrasives.
- Belt sanders. This device is more modern, but it was constructed with huge respect to the previous tool. Use it for treating rough surfaces and large surfaces. The newest models of this tool are equipped with automatic belt centering the abrasive belt.
- Grinders. One of the main disadvantages of this tool during any type of construction works is the fact that it is too hard to reach some narrow places with it. To avoid this problem, the angular grinding tool was created. The working body of the tool is grinding disc.
- Circular grinding machines. This tool is mainly used for the final stage of works. After the treatment, the parquet surface is treated again with the grinding machine, them the varnishing is performed. Moreover, this device copes with the hard-to-reach places, creating a very successful competition for angular grinders.
- Vibration grinding machines. They are used for the final stage of works, too, as well as for the initial treatment of parquet. Grinding machine vibration is carried out according to the principle of “back and forth” and with the larger amplitude of the swing (with the higher speed). However, this rate is not the guarantee of the high quality
- Eccentric grinders. This is a quite productive tool. The parquet processing quality carried out with eccentric device is really out of competition. Such grinders are representative of the most modern variant of sanding parquet flooring.
Sanding parquet flooring yourself
First and foremost, you should prepare the parquet flooring for sanding. For a start, remove all the furniture from the room (not forgetting to be very careful for the furniture legs not to damage the parquet flooring). Then, test the quality of mounting floorboard by tapping. If there is a hollow sound, it means that the board is unstuck. In this case you should inject glue through a small hole, after which the board is pressed strongly (use your hands first, and after that use some very heavy object).
Tools and materials required:
- the preferable tool for sanding wood
- manual or angular grinder (for hard-to-reach places)
- sandpaper
- special putty
- high quality parquet lacquer
- a vacuum cleaner
Sanding the parquet flooring is carried out with an abrasive grinder sandpaper (#40). Almost the entire area of the premises is originally sanded with this device. Hard-to-reach places are treated by hand or with the help of the angular instrument. The main tasks of sanding is the removal of old paint and coating leveling. Caulking parquet is carried out after the sanding (use #80). number. Mainly, acrylic plaster and a metal spatula are used. Finishing grinding starts immediately after the plaster hardens. For these purposes, use sandpaper #120. The objective of this phase of work is bringing parquet to perfect smoothness. Polishing the parquet and lacquering are carried out at a room temperature of about 73 ?F. First, primer is applied, then 3 layers of varnish are applied, and, at the very end, you should apply glossy gel.
The choice of parquet lacquer is usually a matter of taste. Some like glossy shine, but for someone more matte finishing is perfect. Polyurethane varnish is very delicate, because if the water gets to the floor, it may be froth, and you will have to do everything once again. However, after the drying, it is ready provide you very high wear resistance. Acrylic paints are in need of constant renewal, which is not very convenient. Water-soluble varnishes often frail, but they are relatively cheap. Lacquer based on long oil resins is very toxic, but it dries super fast.
Many people are afraid of dusty and noisy work, so parquet floor sanding is usually postponed for months, even years. But the longer you postpone it, the more damage the parquet coating gets.
