OLD HOUSE DIYer

Less involved than floor sanding, screening is a process often undertaken by do-ityourselfers.

Screening floors is less involved than sanding and may suffice.

A dull wood floor ready for refreshing might not need to be sanded down to bare wood. Screening, also called buffing or a buff-and-recoat, is an alternative with several advantages—when it’s appropriate for the particular floor. Removing minor damage and dullness, screening lightly scuffs the finish so that a new coat of finish will adhere. Screening takes less time than sanding, creates less mess, and doesn’t remove any actual wood. An open-mesh sanding screen is used with the floor buffer, rather than abrasive sanding discs. Rent a buffer at most large homesupply and hardware stores; be sure to clean the wheels.

STEP-BY-STEP STEP 1

Thoroughly clean the floor. Scrape off any paint or plaster drips with a putty knife and remove any marks with a synthetic wool pad. (Steel wool may leave metal dust behind that will affect the new finish.) Set popped nails and refasten any loose nails or boards. Check for raised areas: secure boards so the “ridge” lays flat, and if that’s not possible, mark the high spot with painter’s tape.

Vacuum and then damp mop with a wood floor cleaner and warm water according to the directions, wringing the mop hard so no water remains on the floor. Let the floor dry completely.

To prep the room, seal all openings

with plastic sheets or tarps and painter’s tape, so fine dust doesn’t spread to other rooms. Apply painter’s tape at baseboards to prevent the new finish coat from splashing onto them. Close any ducts.

STEP 2

Attach the sanding screen (an abrasive mesh) to your rented buffer. Either tip the buffer back or lay it on its side and press a 120-grit sanding screen over the pad on the buffer. Turn the buffer upright, and its weight will keep the screen in place.

Buff the floor while wearing a cartridge respirator. Make sure the room is well ventilated with an open window. Start in one corner of the room and work backwards, gliding the buffer from left to right. Work slowly and steadily around the room. Don’t pass over the same area more than two times and don’t hover over one spot, which could cut too deeply into the finish. Avoid the high spots you marked, later hand-sanding them with a sanding block and 120-grit paper. (This avoids creating a light stripe in the finish.) The sanding block can also be used in corners where the buffer can’t go.

Wipe down walls, sills, and mouldings to remove dust, and then vacuum the floor thoroughly. Wipe the floor with mineral spirits and a new tack cloth.

STEP 3

Recoat the floor in the same finish, and preferably the same brand, as the existing finish. Polyurethanes are the most common finish for residential wood floors; they come in oil- or waterbased options. Oil takes longer to dry and requires wearing a respirator when applying it, but mistakes can be corrected while it is still wet. Waterbased poly dries fast, so it requires working quickly to prevent lap marks, and mistakes can’t be corrected.

For an oil-based finish, use a lamb’s wool applicator for the floors, and a china-bristle brush for corners. For water-based polyurethane, use a synthetic wool applicator for the floors, and a painting pad for corners. Apply the finish along the length of the floorboards (going with the grain), from wall to wall. Let dry according to the manufacturer’s instructions for the finish.