Sealing/Finishing Floorboards

[Claw Hama]

If you're going to do it yourself go tung oil it 's bullet proof. Mostly what they put on basket ball courts etc. Easy to on, easy patch later if you have any little accidents too. Classy low sheen look.

[namtrak]

You should sand between coats to get the ideal finish, but not with a drum sander I believe. Maybe use the edge sander with some very old sandpaper on it - but check with the pros first

[mattwilliams78]

Sorry, more questions. I've seen a guy on ebay who is selling sandpaper by the roll. Will this fit the hire sander do you think? or should I just stick with the sheet stuff from the hire shop? At Able they are selling the sanding sheets at $5/sheet and I heard that a sheet only does about 6-9m2. So, assuming I need 3 passes (boards in poor nick), that'll be 30-40 sheets per grade, which equates to about $450 for the three different grades and sounds about right. It appears that I can get a 25m roll for about $40 and at 750mm per length, that would be about 35 sheets for $40. This means I only need 3 rolls to do the same amount - or about $120, which is a fair difference.

Has anyone come across sandpaper by the roll? would it work with the hire sander?

[Dusty]

WOW. Talk about expensive.

First up, you certainly won't need anywhere near the volume of sandpaper you have listed there.

If your floor is in poor condition, as you have suggested, then I recommend you get three sheets of 24 grit for sanding the boards flat on a 45 degree angle. Grab another three sheets of 40 grit for sanding with the grain and removing the scratches left from the angle sanding that you have done with the 24 grit.

Next, sand once again with the grain, this time using 80 grit paper which will remove the deep sanding scratches from the 40 grit paper.

Finally, go with the grain once more using 120 grit paper which will leave you with a fairly smooth floor ready to be coated.

All up that should see you requiring only twelve sheets of sandpaper, three of each grit I've listed - 24 - 40 - 80 - 120 - which equates to 60 bucks and I'm thinking you won't even need to use all that sandpaper if you're careful, so what you don't use can go back to the hire joint, meaning that you will be able to get your job done for around 40 dollars worth of paper. A big difference than the $450 you might of been willing to throw away.

For the record, I don't sand my floors in the manner described above as I use completely different machines and techniques, but given what the hire companies have on offer I think what I've suggested would give you the finest results with the least amount of tears and foul language.

Good luck.

[namtrak]

In most cases you can return unused papers anyway. I reckon you will probably use more of the lower grade grit than any other grit as this is the one that does all the work. Make sure you punch all nails properly so as not to waste any sheets needlessly.

From memory I think we were spending between $30 and $50 for paper when hiring machines.

Consider chasing up a 20 litre drum of Durapol - the Durapol 1045 costs around $150 for 20 litres. You would need to visit the Polycure website and find a distributor near you.

[mattwilliams78]

Thanks Namtrak and Dusty, I'm just going on what Gooner was saying in his thread but maybe he was using an unusual amount/incorrect technique/poor machines?

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ht=floorboards

So I only need about $50-100 of sandpaper for 80m2?

I bought some Cabots Clear Floor water based one pack poly today. Got it off ebay from a guy who sells ALOT of dented tins. Paid $8/L instead of $20/L - he assured me they were sealed and full, but I haven't paid him for them yet until I pick them up . I really wanted to keep away from 2 pack as a DIY job; one pack supposedly allows me to sand back odd spots later on and just patch the finish. Also, if the satin scratches it will be less noticeable?