Removing Old Varnish From Wood Floors

An orbital sander will make this job much easier and quicker if you re removing varnish from a flat surface.

Removing old varnish from wood floors.

It is especially important to remove the old finish before timber floors are sanded the old finish will probably clog up the abrasive and so require repeated replacement or before applying a new type of finish. It is often necessary to remove old finishes varnish wax oil polish etc from timber floors. However you will have to sand by hand for curved surfaces. Take great care as the thinner can easily remove the finish.

Goof off paint splatter is the go to product here. Soak a small part of a rag with the thinner and rub it on the paint. Paint and varnish oil wax and polishes. Remove old paint off hardwood floors using paint thinner.

Ensure proper ventilation in the room you ll be working inside. Removing old varnish and stain can give wood a fresh start. If you ve tried all the above paint removal methods and nothing has worked then it s time purchase a product to remove the paint according to spot removal guide. A wood varnish can protect wood floors while also providing an attractive natural shine.

Removing old finishes from wooden floors. Use a heat gun. Sanding is one of the most common methods as it cuts through varnish and stain and reveals a fresh layer of wood. Change the disks on the random orbit sander to 60 grit abrasive and sand entire floor.

Use a detail sander fitted with 36 grit sandpaper to remove the old finish under places the large sander couldn t reach such as under the toekick and in corners. A heat gun works in a similar way to stripper by softening and loosening the varnish in order to make it easier to remove. The use of thinner should be the last resort in removing paint from the stained wood floor. Though labor intensive sandpaper is capable of removing nearly any wood finish.

Change the 60 grit disks to 80 grit and sand the floor one final time. This should remove the varnish. In some cases though you may want to remove an old varnish to apply a new varnish or refinish your wood.