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Spent the WE re-working the solid beech floor in the kitchen. After 15 years use I sanded it down last year intending to retreat with Oil, but found the oil had solidified so used Varnish instead. This turned out to be a stupid decision as the Varnish was crap and let water through really easily so the wood got quite badly stained over winter, near the back door.
So, last WE I started sanding off the Varnish with my Festool Rotex 125mm, which was a real pain as the varnish just blocked all the sanding pads really quickly, used all 50 that I had and only did about 40% of the floor, which I then oiled. Have ordered another 150 pads for next WE...
[url= https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8013/28894720013_cd94b5478b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8013/28894720013_cd94b5478b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/L2jZzP ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
Two Qs really...
1) What is the best way to strip off varnish from the floor, or do you just get through a lot of paper?
2) What Polish fitment would be best for the Rotex, to buff the oil to a shine / remove minor blemishes eg
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Or one of this set https://www.festool.co.uk/Products/Accessories/Pages/Variations.aspx?pid=201990&ppid=571784
When I'm doing a gun stock I use surgical spirit to soften any varnish then scrape it off with a blade before sanding and oiling etc.
When I'm doing a gun stock I use surgical spirit to soften any varnish then scrape it off with a blade before sanding and oiling etc.
Hmm, I wonder if nail varnish remover would work
Googling surgical spirit brought up this thread: http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/is-isopropyl-alcohol-the-same-as-surgical-spirit
OK, found the answer to Q2:
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from this video
I have a Rotex 150mm and wouldn't take it to a floor! Osmo is the holy grail for wood finishes IME. We always used to spray melamine lacquer on everything but find Osmo more water resistant and much easier to apply.
Not much help but we got the pro's in. Someone had used the wrong stuff on the floor previously and it played havoc with his sander. So I suspect the answer is just lots of pads.
Cost about £250 for a room your size (3x rooms at once) including the extra hard industrial varnish/oil, no way I'd do it myself given the work involved!
Pads at 45p a shot can add up pretty quickly too.
I had to remove some vaseline (it was a finishing experiment) from timber components and as you can probably imagine it really gummed up paper abrasives, Mirka Abranet made the job much easier but unsure whether it would suitable for your job or not, might be worth a look.
Finishing experiment, aye right! 😀
1)
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BraaaaaaaaaaP!!
To remove varnish from timber I would use a cabinet scraper followed by increasingly fine grades of wire wool.
AS above, with that area it might be worth softening the varnish.
Whatever you do, it ain't going to be quick...
I wouldn't go overboard though. The oil will penetrate the floor where it can, and where it can't is protected anyway. I doubt you'll notice the difference in finish and it might add some much needed interest to the wood.
chickenman
Finishing experiment, aye right!
You got me! 😳
I have a Rotex 150mm and wouldn't take it to a floor! Osmo is the holy grail for wood finishes IME. We always used to spray melamine lacquer on everything but find Osmo more water resistant and much easier to apply.
Well so far its worked out very well, sanded off all the old varnish and all the water marks in the wood, so got a perfect surface at 180 grit (which is as fine as you're supposed to go before applying oil) - although probably cost nearly £30 is pads as they blocked really quickly. Three coats of oil applied, but it really just needs a polish. Ordered the green and white polishing pads as per the Festool video above as well as the Festool oiling squeegee thing (I used a paint brush). The sanding took about 6 hours all in, and that was only 40% of the kitchen, so the next session will be 8 hours on the Rotex unless I can clear off the varnish with something else first....