Floor-Sanding Materials*

RENOVATION 3

Подпись: When sanding floors, follow the physician's creed, "First, do no harm." It can take hours to repair a trough cut by paper that's too coarse. In fact, you may have to replace the damaged section. So start with the least aggressive sandpaper grit that will do the job, whether it's removing old finish or leveling uneven boards. If that proves too gentle, you can easily switch to a more aggressive grit. llll Подпись: TYPE OF MATERIAL GRIT SIZE WHEN TO USE Sandpaper belts 36 Aggressive; use on first pass if boards cupped, uneven for large floor sander; disks for edger 36 open coat Use on first pass if floors coated with wax, paint 60 Try for first pass; switch to 36 if not enough cut 100 Second or third pass Buffer screen 100 Final screen before applying finish (use with backer pad) 220 Smooth between coats of finish Sandpaper strips 180 Smooth between coats of oil-based finish (attach to buffer backer pad) 220 Smooth between coats of water-based finish * Consult finish manufacturer's specs for sanding requirements.
Подпись: Buffer screens are held on with friction. Use them to fine sand a floor that's been stripped or to sand between finish coats.image995Подпись: Backpack vacuums are less likely to gouge flooring or bash woodwork, but their capacity is generally less than that of floor models. Empty vacuums when they're one-third full because the fuller they get, the less efficient they become.

put a lamb’s wool buffing pad on the buffer to bring up the sheen of a finish; thus it’s often used to buff out a new wax coat.

Hand scrapers and sanding blocks reach cor­ners, flooring under cabinet toekicks, and other places edgers can’t reach. Hand scraping is tedious, but it goes more quickly if you periodi­cally use a fine metal file known as a mill file (bastard file) to sharpen the scraper blade.

Other hand tools you’ll need include a nail set to sink nail heads below the surface of the wood before you begin sanding, a hammer, and wide — blade spackling knives or metal squeegees to apply wood filler. If you cut your own edger disks, you’ll need a pair of heavy scissors.

Brushes and applicators should be matched to specific finish types. You’ll find those tools dis­cussed and paired with finishes in "Finishes, Cleaning Solvents, and Applicators,” on p. 494.

Personal safety equipment is not optional. Get a close-fitting respirator mask with organic vapor filters. During the sanding phases, wear eye gog­gles with side vents; vented goggles admit a bit of sanding dust, but they won’t cloud up with water vapor. Drum sanders and edgers are noisy and tiresome; wearing hearing protection will keep you alert longer, so you’ll be less likely to gouge the floor because you’re punchy with fatigue. Wear disposable plastic gloves when applying fin­ishes or wood filler. If you can, buy latex-free nitrile plastic gloves, which auto mechanics, gar­deners, and postal workers swear by. Nitrile gloves are tough enough to withstand automotive

Подпись: Before you start sanding floors, cover cabinets, air registers, and other fixed elements with plastic sheeting. To seal edges, use blue painter's tape to avoid lifting off paint or cabinet finishes, but remove the tape as soon as possible.

solvents and garden grit, yet thin enough to sort mail with. You can easily find nitrile gloves at auto parts stores, typically sold in boxes of 50 to 100 in sizes ranging from small to extra large.

Edging and hand scraping are hard on your knees, so get a pair of kneepads comfortable enough to wear all day.

Rent a heavy-duty vacuum, since there’s no point in frying a home vac that’s really not up to the task. Ideally, the vacuum should have a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter to capture dust rather than recirculate it into the room, but not all rental companies carry them. A backpack vac, shown in the bottom photo on the facing page, is less likely to bash woodwork and has no wheels to compact sawdust, but most rental com­panies offer only wheeled canister types.

SANDPAPER AND BUFFER SCREENS

Sandpaper and buffer screens are rated accord­ing the concentration of grit per square inch. The lower the grit number, the larger, coarser, and more widely spaced the grit particles. Lower-grit papers cut more aggressively. Whereas, the high­er the grit number, the finer and more closely spaced the grit. Consequently, as you sand floors, each grit should be slightly finer than the preced­ing one, smoothing out scratches of the previous grits, till you arrive at the grit level specified on the label of your floor finish. Always read the fin­ish manufacturer’s sanding requirements before renting equipment and buying sanding material.

If you’re sanding floors to bare wood, you’ll typically need to make two or three passes with a large floor sander and an edger and one pass with a buffer with abrasive screen, before floors are smooth enough to apply finish. (Vacuum after each pass.) Get 36-grit, 60-grit, and 100-grit paper for the floor sander and the edger; both use the same grit on each pass. To screen the floor before finishing, buff with 100-grit screens backed by a nylon backing pad. To smooth between coats, use a 220-grit screen, or hook — and-loop sandpaper strips that attach to the buffer pad.

Note: If floors are coated with paint or wax— which gum up sandpaper quickly—use open-coat sandpaper for the first sanding pass. You can use regular closed-coat sandpaper (most sandpaper is closed coat) for subsequent passes.

If you’re simply recoating a finished floor, you probably won’t need a drum sander and an edger; a buffer with a nylon pad and two grades of screen (100 grit and 220 grit) should do the job. Again, check your floor finish’s label to see what grit sandpaper to use between coats. Finally, sandpaper wears out quickly, so get more than

you think you’ll need. Most rental companies will credit you for unused paper when you return the equipment.



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Updated: 25 ноября, 2015 — 8:24 пп