Polishing 40yo Tas Oak floor boards - HELP & Info required

Hi Guys,
We have recently purchased a 40y/o house that still had the original carpet and vinyl coverings. We are looking to polish the boards beneath which are 137x19 Tassie Oak.
I have been reading up on what should be done but thought I would start this thread to ask a few questions that I havn't been able to find specific answers for.
The boards are in what ssems to be very good condition, as in they are flat and no gaps have appeared over the years.
We are planning on hiring a drum and edge sander from Bunnings for the day to get the initial sand done. We have approx 50 sqm to do so this should be possible in one day(I hope)
What grit sand paper should be use and in how many steps?
I would also like some advice on what finish to apply, my only pre requisite is that it must be able to have another coat added down the track without sanding back to wood.
Also, what sander and grit paper should be used for the sanding between coats?
Is a standard paint roller the best method of applying the finish?
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
cheers.

Anybody?
Another question, the hallway has the boards running across and therefore I dont believe the drum sander can be used there as it can not be run with the grain, does this have to be sanded using an orbital?

Firstly, I admire you wanting to 'have a go' at doing your own floors.....but, at the end of the day you would be far better off having a flooring contractor come in and do the job properly, from the word go.

The hire machine cost nearly $80 a day, plus the edging machine,(about $50) plus the sand paper sheets and discs, plus the coatings.

To give you an idea of how much more you will have to pay for the coatings I can buy 40lts of Wattyl 7008 two pack for $280 including GST. Where as, at Bunnings the very same product and volume will cost you around $520.

Now given that you have 50 mts you will need at least 15 lts, but more like 20 to be sure. As you buy smaller quantities the price per litre creeps up to beyond the $20 per litre mark, so for 15 to 20 litres your looking at $300 to $400. Plus, you will need a roller or three, a brush or three, along with that you will require putty (also grossly over priced).

Then there is your valuable time which has to be worth, at the very bottom, $50 per hour. The sad part is, with that valuable time your using, you will still only produce, at best, an average result as the hire equipment is nothing to write home about.

So, back to original thought which is, get a man in to do the job who does that job for a living.

Good luck.

Hope I'm not hijacking this post but I am wondering, Dusty, what is a rough $$$ figure for sanding 40 year old floorboards? I also have Vic Ash boards that have been under carpet since they were new. I have to decide whether to polish or carpet. I prefer polish because a wooden floor always looks good whereas carpet ages.
I did my daughters bedroom last year, using a hand held belt sander. It's a very small room of 6 sq metres. I burnt out one sander! I ran over my dusting rag with a second sander and didn't realise that I bent the axle that the rear roller runs on. Result a great looking floor with a lot of dents it!!! Doh!
So my opinion on sanding is : Hard to do; easy to stuff up!

G'day, Steck.

Your looking at $30.00 per square metre to have your boards sanded and polished.

This includes punching and filling of the nails, the sanding to a super fine finish and the application of three coats of 2 pac polyurethane.

Regards.

Dusty is right on the money there. Anyone who does an old floor like that for less than 25 bucks a metre is probably not going to do the best job.