How to Refinish Hardwood Floors with Minimal Sanding

Most homeowners want to avoid the mess of sanding when refinishing their wood floors. Sanding a hardwood floor creates excessive sawdust, making it more difficult to clean the floor space before applying stain and polyurethane.

Heavy sanding may take away the beautiful character of the hardwood, leaving your floors looking dull. Fortunately, there are ways to refinish hardwood floors with minimal or even no sanding required.

Tools you may need:

buffing machine
clear coat or polyurethane
wood filler compound or putty
fine sandpaper for corners
squeegee sponge mop
solvent or mineral spirits
cotton rags

(1) Prep the floor by vacuuming and sweeping up dirt, dust, and debris. Carfully peel off flakes of old resin. Afterwards, wipe the floor with a damp cloth to remove any tiny dirt particles that remain.

If you are refinishing a hardwood floor that was previously covered with carpet, you must remove the old glue and tacking strips with a scraper and solvent. Solvent makes the dried glue tacky enough to scrape. Always work in a well-ventilated area and use a face mask when applying solvents.

(2) Choose a brand of wood filler or putty whose color matches that of the floor, and use the putty to fill any large holes in the wood. If the putty is too light, you can mix it with a bit of stain. Or, after it dries and you have spot sanded the area, you can dab stain on the area.

(3) Rent a buffing machine from a hardware or building supply store and buff the entire hardwood floor. Like a power sander, a buffing machine has a large rotating pad. But unlike a power sander, the buffing machine's pad is not nearly as abrasive and so it removes very little of the floor's surface. It scuffs the floor just enough so that the new coat of resin will adhere. For the corners where the buffer cannot reach, use fine sandpaper.

(4) After buffing the floor, wipe the area with a cotton rag and soaked in mineral spirits or light solvent. This helps create a nice clean surface for applying the new coat of resin.

(5) Using the squeegee mop to apply a new layer of clear coat or polyurethane. Because your hardwood floor already has some finish, you only need one coat. Let the new finish cure for at least 12 hours before walking and placing rugs and furniture back in the room.