Have you ever sanded hardwood floors yourself? Is it extremely difficult?

[kristine_elen]

We have floors that need to be redone but I don't want to spend a lot and am thinking we might try it ourselves. Are we just asking for trouble, or is it do-able? Thanks!

[kristine_elen]

We have floors that need to be redone but I don't want to spend a lot and am thinking we might try it ourselves. Are we just asking for trouble, or is it do-able? Thanks!

[kristine_elen]

We have floors that need to be redone but I don't want to spend a lot and am thinking we might try it ourselves. Are we just asking for trouble, or is it do-able? Thanks!

[kristine_elen]

We have floors that need to be redone but I don't want to spend a lot and am thinking we might try it ourselves. Are we just asking for trouble, or is it do-able? Thanks!

[kristine_elen]

We have floors that need to be redone but I don't want to spend a lot and am thinking we might try it ourselves. Are we just asking for trouble, or is it do-able? Thanks!

[Momof3Labs]

We put in hardwood floors a few years back, and some of the things that they told us might help you.

First, we were told that refinishing hardwood floors is actually quite inexpensive. I haven't priced it out, but if you haven't, you should.

Second, hardwood floors can only be refinished a few times in their lifetime. So, if you are doing it yourself and you sand too far down, you may shorten the life of your floors significantly.

Finally, be warned that this process generates a TON of dust! Everything in the house that isn't covered well will be filthy!!

[Momof3Labs]

We put in hardwood floors a few years back, and some of the things that they told us might help you.

First, we were told that refinishing hardwood floors is actually quite inexpensive. I haven't priced it out, but if you haven't, you should.

Second, hardwood floors can only be refinished a few times in their lifetime. So, if you are doing it yourself and you sand too far down, you may shorten the life of your floors significantly.

Finally, be warned that this process generates a TON of dust! Everything in the house that isn't covered well will be filthy!!

[Momof3Labs]

We put in hardwood floors a few years back, and some of the things that they told us might help you.

First, we were told that refinishing hardwood floors is actually quite inexpensive. I haven't priced it out, but if you haven't, you should.

Second, hardwood floors can only be refinished a few times in their lifetime. So, if you are doing it yourself and you sand too far down, you may shorten the life of your floors significantly.

Finally, be warned that this process generates a TON of dust! Everything in the house that isn't covered well will be filthy!!

[Momof3Labs]

We put in hardwood floors a few years back, and some of the things that they told us might help you.

First, we were told that refinishing hardwood floors is actually quite inexpensive. I haven't priced it out, but if you haven't, you should.

Second, hardwood floors can only be refinished a few times in their lifetime. So, if you are doing it yourself and you sand too far down, you may shorten the life of your floors significantly.

Finally, be warned that this process generates a TON of dust! Everything in the house that isn't covered well will be filthy!!

[Momof3Labs]

We put in hardwood floors a few years back, and some of the things that they told us might help you.

First, we were told that refinishing hardwood floors is actually quite inexpensive. I haven't priced it out, but if you haven't, you should.

Second, hardwood floors can only be refinished a few times in their lifetime. So, if you are doing it yourself and you sand too far down, you may shorten the life of your floors significantly.

Finally, be warned that this process generates a TON of dust! Everything in the house that isn't covered well will be filthy!!

[redhookmom]

We have done it a few times. Well, "we" might be to strong of a word. My dh has done most of the work. My dh does most of the sanding and I do most of the polying.

I don't think it is a hard job. If you have more the one floor maybe you could try a small room and work from there.

[redhookmom]

We have done it a few times. Well, "we" might be to strong of a word. My dh has done most of the work. My dh does most of the sanding and I do most of the polying.

I don't think it is a hard job. If you have more the one floor maybe you could try a small room and work from there.

[redhookmom]

We have done it a few times. Well, "we" might be to strong of a word. My dh has done most of the work. My dh does most of the sanding and I do most of the polying.

I don't think it is a hard job. If you have more the one floor maybe you could try a small room and work from there.

[redhookmom]

We have done it a few times. Well, "we" might be to strong of a word. My dh has done most of the work. My dh does most of the sanding and I do most of the polying.

I don't think it is a hard job. If you have more the one floor maybe you could try a small room and work from there.

[redhookmom]

We have done it a few times. Well, "we" might be to strong of a word. My dh has done most of the work. My dh does most of the sanding and I do most of the polying.

I don't think it is a hard job. If you have more the one floor maybe you could try a small room and work from there.

[lfp2n]

We did our entire house a year or so ago when we moved in- well we being DH and my sister who was here on vacation!! I had to look after DD, one of the benefits of breastfeeding... I'd say it was a really horrible job that took about 3 days plus varnishing (which isn't so bad except for the toxic fumes).
But its worth the pain as they look beautiful and it was so much cheaper and faster than getting a company in

Lucy DD 3/o3

[lfp2n]

We did our entire house a year or so ago when we moved in- well we being DH and my sister who was here on vacation!! I had to look after DD, one of the benefits of breastfeeding... I'd say it was a really horrible job that took about 3 days plus varnishing (which isn't so bad except for the toxic fumes).
But its worth the pain as they look beautiful and it was so much cheaper and faster than getting a company in

Lucy DD 3/o3

[lfp2n]

We did our entire house a year or so ago when we moved in- well we being DH and my sister who was here on vacation!! I had to look after DD, one of the benefits of breastfeeding... I'd say it was a really horrible job that took about 3 days plus varnishing (which isn't so bad except for the toxic fumes).
But its worth the pain as they look beautiful and it was so much cheaper and faster than getting a company in

Lucy DD 3/o3

[lfp2n]

We did our entire house a year or so ago when we moved in- well we being DH and my sister who was here on vacation!! I had to look after DD, one of the benefits of breastfeeding... I'd say it was a really horrible job that took about 3 days plus varnishing (which isn't so bad except for the toxic fumes).
But its worth the pain as they look beautiful and it was so much cheaper and faster than getting a company in

Lucy DD 3/o3

[lfp2n]

We did our entire house a year or so ago when we moved in- well we being DH and my sister who was here on vacation!! I had to look after DD, one of the benefits of breastfeeding... I'd say it was a really horrible job that took about 3 days plus varnishing (which isn't so bad except for the toxic fumes).
But its worth the pain as they look beautiful and it was so much cheaper and faster than getting a company in

Lucy DD 3/o3

[lukkykatt]

My father, who is one of the most talented and immaculate non-professional handymen, did it himself - once. And never again. He has since always hired people to do it.

It is something that can take much longer for you to do yourself and it can be alot more messy, and also not look as nice. For example, it is kind of hard to get into corners, etc.

I don't think it is very expensive, especially when you factor in the machine rental if you did it yourself. I would price it out just to compare. If your budget is tight, I would consider hiring someone to sand and then stain and poly yourself.

Good luck!

[lukkykatt]

My father, who is one of the most talented and immaculate non-professional handymen, did it himself - once. And never again. He has since always hired people to do it.

It is something that can take much longer for you to do yourself and it can be alot more messy, and also not look as nice. For example, it is kind of hard to get into corners, etc.

I don't think it is very expensive, especially when you factor in the machine rental if you did it yourself. I would price it out just to compare. If your budget is tight, I would consider hiring someone to sand and then stain and poly yourself.

Good luck!

[lukkykatt]

My father, who is one of the most talented and immaculate non-professional handymen, did it himself - once. And never again. He has since always hired people to do it.

It is something that can take much longer for you to do yourself and it can be alot more messy, and also not look as nice. For example, it is kind of hard to get into corners, etc.

I don't think it is very expensive, especially when you factor in the machine rental if you did it yourself. I would price it out just to compare. If your budget is tight, I would consider hiring someone to sand and then stain and poly yourself.

Good luck!

[lukkykatt]

My father, who is one of the most talented and immaculate non-professional handymen, did it himself - once. And never again. He has since always hired people to do it.

It is something that can take much longer for you to do yourself and it can be alot more messy, and also not look as nice. For example, it is kind of hard to get into corners, etc.

I don't think it is very expensive, especially when you factor in the machine rental if you did it yourself. I would price it out just to compare. If your budget is tight, I would consider hiring someone to sand and then stain and poly yourself.

Good luck!

[lukkykatt]

My father, who is one of the most talented and immaculate non-professional handymen, did it himself - once. And never again. He has since always hired people to do it.

It is something that can take much longer for you to do yourself and it can be alot more messy, and also not look as nice. For example, it is kind of hard to get into corners, etc.

I don't think it is very expensive, especially when you factor in the machine rental if you did it yourself. I would price it out just to compare. If your budget is tight, I would consider hiring someone to sand and then stain and poly yourself.

Good luck!

[aliceinwonderland]

yes, we did it this summer for the downstairs of our house...everything gets dusty from the particles of wood, the machine rental I believe was about 100 buck and then you also have the cost of the varnish and sanding paper. It took DH and his father 2 days to just do our downstairs. When they put one coat of varnish in, we had to go to a hotel to escape the fumes. So figure that cost too.

I chose what I thought was a GORGEOUS varnish(cherry color from Benjamin Moore) and I LOVE LOVE my floors. They make me happier that floors should make a normal person. LOL :)

[aliceinwonderland]

yes, we did it this summer for the downstairs of our house...everything gets dusty from the particles of wood, the machine rental I believe was about 100 buck and then you also have the cost of the varnish and sanding paper. It took DH and his father 2 days to just do our downstairs. When they put one coat of varnish in, we had to go to a hotel to escape the fumes. So figure that cost too.

I chose what I thought was a GORGEOUS varnish(cherry color from Benjamin Moore) and I LOVE LOVE my floors. They make me happier that floors should make a normal person. LOL :)

[aliceinwonderland]

yes, we did it this summer for the downstairs of our house...everything gets dusty from the particles of wood, the machine rental I believe was about 100 buck and then you also have the cost of the varnish and sanding paper. It took DH and his father 2 days to just do our downstairs. When they put one coat of varnish in, we had to go to a hotel to escape the fumes. So figure that cost too.

I chose what I thought was a GORGEOUS varnish(cherry color from Benjamin Moore) and I LOVE LOVE my floors. They make me happier that floors should make a normal person. LOL :)

[aliceinwonderland]

yes, we did it this summer for the downstairs of our house...everything gets dusty from the particles of wood, the machine rental I believe was about 100 buck and then you also have the cost of the varnish and sanding paper. It took DH and his father 2 days to just do our downstairs. When they put one coat of varnish in, we had to go to a hotel to escape the fumes. So figure that cost too.

I chose what I thought was a GORGEOUS varnish(cherry color from Benjamin Moore) and I LOVE LOVE my floors. They make me happier that floors should make a normal person. LOL :)

[aliceinwonderland]

yes, we did it this summer for the downstairs of our house...everything gets dusty from the particles of wood, the machine rental I believe was about 100 buck and then you also have the cost of the varnish and sanding paper. It took DH and his father 2 days to just do our downstairs. When they put one coat of varnish in, we had to go to a hotel to escape the fumes. So figure that cost too.

I chose what I thought was a GORGEOUS varnish(cherry color from Benjamin Moore) and I LOVE LOVE my floors. They make me happier that floors should make a normal person. LOL :)

[squimp]

We did one room, and the advice we got was to sand ourselves, and have someone else do the coating. The sanding was not too bad, took a day to do a 12x12 room to perfection (getting all the corners, closets, etc.). It was kinda fun. The coating seemed like there was more that could go wrong.

[squimp]

We did one room, and the advice we got was to sand ourselves, and have someone else do the coating. The sanding was not too bad, took a day to do a 12x12 room to perfection (getting all the corners, closets, etc.). It was kinda fun. The coating seemed like there was more that could go wrong.

[squimp]

We did one room, and the advice we got was to sand ourselves, and have someone else do the coating. The sanding was not too bad, took a day to do a 12x12 room to perfection (getting all the corners, closets, etc.). It was kinda fun. The coating seemed like there was more that could go wrong.

[squimp]

We did one room, and the advice we got was to sand ourselves, and have someone else do the coating. The sanding was not too bad, took a day to do a 12x12 room to perfection (getting all the corners, closets, etc.). It was kinda fun. The coating seemed like there was more that could go wrong.

[squimp]

We did one room, and the advice we got was to sand ourselves, and have someone else do the coating. The sanding was not too bad, took a day to do a 12x12 room to perfection (getting all the corners, closets, etc.). It was kinda fun. The coating seemed like there was more that could go wrong.

[kristine_elen]

Thanks for the input!

[kristine_elen]

Thanks for the input!

[kristine_elen]

Thanks for the input!

[kristine_elen]

Thanks for the input!

[kristine_elen]

Thanks for the input!

[alkagift]

Kristine,
I've done it, sort of, and my advice is to get someone in to tell you whether you need a serious sanding or just a screening, which will remove the upper layers of the finish, but not much wood and is MUCH MUCH easier to do.

The problem is the sander--the big belt sander, which is what you use for serious sanding, is VERY hard to control, very heavy, and if you leave it in one spot more than a second it will sand a divot into your floor. Not good. A screener or big box-style sander is much easier to control, moves more slowly, and you could do it. I rented one from Home Depot. I used water-based poly and it wasn't smelly at all.

Here's the deal though--DH and I "screened" (which is to say barely sanded) the floors when we bought our house and re-polyed everything. It looked fine but it was not durable, because we really didn't sand the finish down. We ended up having it professionally done five years later and it looks much better and will definitely hold up. Our 1,900 sq ft area of hardwoods was about $1500.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[alkagift]

Kristine,
I've done it, sort of, and my advice is to get someone in to tell you whether you need a serious sanding or just a screening, which will remove the upper layers of the finish, but not much wood and is MUCH MUCH easier to do.

The problem is the sander--the big belt sander, which is what you use for serious sanding, is VERY hard to control, very heavy, and if you leave it in one spot more than a second it will sand a divot into your floor. Not good. A screener or big box-style sander is much easier to control, moves more slowly, and you could do it. I rented one from Home Depot. I used water-based poly and it wasn't smelly at all.

Here's the deal though--DH and I "screened" (which is to say barely sanded) the floors when we bought our house and re-polyed everything. It looked fine but it was not durable, because we really didn't sand the finish down. We ended up having it professionally done five years later and it looks much better and will definitely hold up. Our 1,900 sq ft area of hardwoods was about $1500.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[alkagift]

Kristine,
I've done it, sort of, and my advice is to get someone in to tell you whether you need a serious sanding or just a screening, which will remove the upper layers of the finish, but not much wood and is MUCH MUCH easier to do.

The problem is the sander--the big belt sander, which is what you use for serious sanding, is VERY hard to control, very heavy, and if you leave it in one spot more than a second it will sand a divot into your floor. Not good. A screener or big box-style sander is much easier to control, moves more slowly, and you could do it. I rented one from Home Depot. I used water-based poly and it wasn't smelly at all.

Here's the deal though--DH and I "screened" (which is to say barely sanded) the floors when we bought our house and re-polyed everything. It looked fine but it was not durable, because we really didn't sand the finish down. We ended up having it professionally done five years later and it looks much better and will definitely hold up. Our 1,900 sq ft area of hardwoods was about $1500.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[alkagift]

Kristine,
I've done it, sort of, and my advice is to get someone in to tell you whether you need a serious sanding or just a screening, which will remove the upper layers of the finish, but not much wood and is MUCH MUCH easier to do.

The problem is the sander--the big belt sander, which is what you use for serious sanding, is VERY hard to control, very heavy, and if you leave it in one spot more than a second it will sand a divot into your floor. Not good. A screener or big box-style sander is much easier to control, moves more slowly, and you could do it. I rented one from Home Depot. I used water-based poly and it wasn't smelly at all.

Here's the deal though--DH and I "screened" (which is to say barely sanded) the floors when we bought our house and re-polyed everything. It looked fine but it was not durable, because we really didn't sand the finish down. We ended up having it professionally done five years later and it looks much better and will definitely hold up. Our 1,900 sq ft area of hardwoods was about $1500.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[alkagift]

Kristine,
I've done it, sort of, and my advice is to get someone in to tell you whether you need a serious sanding or just a screening, which will remove the upper layers of the finish, but not much wood and is MUCH MUCH easier to do.

The problem is the sander--the big belt sander, which is what you use for serious sanding, is VERY hard to control, very heavy, and if you leave it in one spot more than a second it will sand a divot into your floor. Not good. A screener or big box-style sander is much easier to control, moves more slowly, and you could do it. I rented one from Home Depot. I used water-based poly and it wasn't smelly at all.

Here's the deal though--DH and I "screened" (which is to say barely sanded) the floors when we bought our house and re-polyed everything. It looked fine but it was not durable, because we really didn't sand the finish down. We ended up having it professionally done five years later and it looks much better and will definitely hold up. Our 1,900 sq ft area of hardwoods was about $1500.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[mommy_someday]

If you can afford it, hire someone to do it for you! DH and I redid three rooms and a hallway last summer and it was an awful job. We taped off the rooms, covered outlets and vents, but the dust still got everywhere. We were literally washing the walls afterward. The belt sander isn't too bad - I was able to control it pretty well. It's the edger that's the worst. DH had to do all of the edges with it and he could hardly control it. In a couple of places, we have slight divets (like a PP mentioned) that are really obvious when the light is right. Also, the people at Home Depot said that we needed to do 4 coats of varnish for a really durable finish. We ended up doing 3 and the container said it takes 2 weeks to cure before you can have traffic and furniture on it. I would do a lot of research beforehand, maybe see if you can test the machines in-store to make sure you can handle them. If you would be okay with minor imperfections, you'll probably be fine, but if not, definitely don't do it yourself.

Good luck!

[mommy_someday]

If you can afford it, hire someone to do it for you! DH and I redid three rooms and a hallway last summer and it was an awful job. We taped off the rooms, covered outlets and vents, but the dust still got everywhere. We were literally washing the walls afterward. The belt sander isn't too bad - I was able to control it pretty well. It's the edger that's the worst. DH had to do all of the edges with it and he could hardly control it. In a couple of places, we have slight divets (like a PP mentioned) that are really obvious when the light is right. Also, the people at Home Depot said that we needed to do 4 coats of varnish for a really durable finish. We ended up doing 3 and the container said it takes 2 weeks to cure before you can have traffic and furniture on it. I would do a lot of research beforehand, maybe see if you can test the machines in-store to make sure you can handle them. If you would be okay with minor imperfections, you'll probably be fine, but if not, definitely don't do it yourself.

Good luck!

[mommy_someday]

If you can afford it, hire someone to do it for you! DH and I redid three rooms and a hallway last summer and it was an awful job. We taped off the rooms, covered outlets and vents, but the dust still got everywhere. We were literally washing the walls afterward. The belt sander isn't too bad - I was able to control it pretty well. It's the edger that's the worst. DH had to do all of the edges with it and he could hardly control it. In a couple of places, we have slight divets (like a PP mentioned) that are really obvious when the light is right. Also, the people at Home Depot said that we needed to do 4 coats of varnish for a really durable finish. We ended up doing 3 and the container said it takes 2 weeks to cure before you can have traffic and furniture on it. I would do a lot of research beforehand, maybe see if you can test the machines in-store to make sure you can handle them. If you would be okay with minor imperfections, you'll probably be fine, but if not, definitely don't do it yourself.

Good luck!

[mommy_someday]

If you can afford it, hire someone to do it for you! DH and I redid three rooms and a hallway last summer and it was an awful job. We taped off the rooms, covered outlets and vents, but the dust still got everywhere. We were literally washing the walls afterward. The belt sander isn't too bad - I was able to control it pretty well. It's the edger that's the worst. DH had to do all of the edges with it and he could hardly control it. In a couple of places, we have slight divets (like a PP mentioned) that are really obvious when the light is right. Also, the people at Home Depot said that we needed to do 4 coats of varnish for a really durable finish. We ended up doing 3 and the container said it takes 2 weeks to cure before you can have traffic and furniture on it. I would do a lot of research beforehand, maybe see if you can test the machines in-store to make sure you can handle them. If you would be okay with minor imperfections, you'll probably be fine, but if not, definitely don't do it yourself.

Good luck!

[mommy_someday]

If you can afford it, hire someone to do it for you! DH and I redid three rooms and a hallway last summer and it was an awful job. We taped off the rooms, covered outlets and vents, but the dust still got everywhere. We were literally washing the walls afterward. The belt sander isn't too bad - I was able to control it pretty well. It's the edger that's the worst. DH had to do all of the edges with it and he could hardly control it. In a couple of places, we have slight divets (like a PP mentioned) that are really obvious when the light is right. Also, the people at Home Depot said that we needed to do 4 coats of varnish for a really durable finish. We ended up doing 3 and the container said it takes 2 weeks to cure before you can have traffic and furniture on it. I would do a lot of research beforehand, maybe see if you can test the machines in-store to make sure you can handle them. If you would be okay with minor imperfections, you'll probably be fine, but if not, definitely don't do it yourself.

Good luck!

[hellosmiletoday]

Where did you find information about DIY screening? Why do you think it did not hold up well? We are debating what to do with our wood floors, which are in good condition in most places except high traffic hallway areas. A floor company recommended screening and said it was too soon for refinishing.

There is also a product called Bona refresher that is DIY and also supposed to remove scratches.

[alkagift]

Hi--how surprised I was to see this old thread pop up again!

We did the screening as an alternative to the big belt sanders and we found out about it at the Home Depot tool rental area. The screener is square and moves like a hand sander--it is much easier to control and you don't have the high likelihood that you will get a "sanding ding" in your floor from holding the machine in one place too long. You still have that risk, it's just not as bad.

It wasn't durable for us because, in my humble opinion, the wood was too far gone--this is true for our situation but not of course necessarily true for yours. Also, and this has nothing to do with the screening, we didn't use polyurethane to refinish and we should have--we used a water-based coat and it just doesn't hold up as well over the partially-refinished floor--water-based over oil-based finishes just don't bond.

I used Bona cleaning products, but I don't know anything about the refresher. My guess though is it would be fine for minor surface scratches in the clear coat.

Good luck with your project!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew, who is TWO!

Are you TTC and want to share with BBB friends? Join us! http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/BBB_TTC/

[hellosmiletoday]

Thanks for the info. One of the people that quoted us a price for screening said he prefers oil over water based...and he charges $300, which seems like a good price.

THe refresher is a water based poly, so I'm thinking its not going to be as good.

My other questions is -- what are the net results of the screening. In general, the wood floors need a little bit more shine, but they are not in bad condition. As I mentioned earlier, the only bad part are the hallways...where there are lots of tiny little scratches. They are very superficial. DO you think the screening will help enough to make a difference?

In the place I rented before, the landlords had just refinished the floors...and I really miss the perfection of the floors (being a perfectionist myself).

Thanks For replying so promptly!

[Judegirl]

I haven't read the other posts, so forgive me if i'm contradicting, but I say YES YES YES.

I was told by a friend it was no big deal. I wish to heaven I had asked someone else. I thought it was a huge undertaking and ended up setting for a half-baked job - now I have a bad back and we have terrible floors.

I must admit, however, that when it comes to physical labor, I am exceedingly lazy.

HTH,
Jude

[american_mama]

Not sure if this will help you, but I had 1400 sf of hardwood completely sanded and refinished in August, water-based finish, no stain. I called about 5 companies and got quotes ranging from about $2 a square foot to $1.60, and the guy who I hired maybe had bad math skills or cut me a break for some reasons, because my total price for the 1400 sf was only $1,600. All of the companies I called assumed I would used the water based (also called acrylic), I suspect because it is easier for them and less smelly for the consumer. Other negatives of traditional polyurethane are that it yellows over the decades, which some people don't want. Finally, I was told by one person that the water-based turns red oak floors a slightly odd pinkish color.

I went along with the universal endorsement of water-based and that's what we got, but I really think it has taken hold mostly for the installer's convenience. But if you are paying someone to do the work, I confess I am more concerned about the more durable or better looking product, not the one that is easier to use.

Note that if you are sanding down an old floor, it will strip off the old polyurethane that has darkened over time, and your new floors will be significantly lighter. I kind of wish I had chosen a stain to counteract this. Adding a stain adds slightly to the cost.

If you have dogs whose nails might scratch the floors, or you always wear shoes in the house, or have soem other extenuating circumstnace, I would ask for extra coats of acrylic (3 coats or more) or go with the traditional polyurethane.

Finally, all the installers also assumed I would get a matte finish on the acrylic. THis seems to be the new style, but it is too dull looking for me. I choose a semi-gloss, which my refinishing guy said was the first one he had done in several years, and am very happy. It is only a minor difference, especially as the acrylic is not that shiny no matter what level of gloss you get, but it matters to me. You can ask to look at samples of their stains and finishes (they will probably have a little sample board in the truck) or go to Lowe's and look and/or you can ask them to do the first coat no stain or matte, and then change the second coat if you don't like the first. Or see if they will do a closet as a test for you to decide if you want that for the whole floor.

[alkagift]

The net results of screening is that it basically knocks the gloss off, but it does not get down below the level of the stain. It *may* lighten the stain slightly, but it depends on the grit of your screen. It didn't really do much to change the color of our floor at all, it just took all the clearcoat off, which is what we wanted. The screening would be perfect for what you described. Our floors were worse.

And I wanted to reiterate that the primary problem with putting the water-based stuff on for US was that screening does not remove ALL traces of the clear coat, just what's on the surface. And water based stuff just doesn't stick to oil-based coats well, so we had an adherance issue.

The only disadvantage with oil-based polyurethane is that it will darken slightly over many years and it has a slightly yellowish/brownish tint to it. Very slight, but if you wanted that super blonde look on your floors, it wouldn't be white-white, KWIM?

Allison