Electrical equipment for sanding parquet, selection of abrasive tools for the treatment of flooring, methods of performing cosmetic repairs. Parquet sanding is the finishing of the flooring to obtain a smooth surface before varnishing. The work is carried out by grinding machines according to a special technique. We learn the rules for choosing equipment and the technology of cosmetic repairs from this article.
Signs of deterioration of the parquet
After long-term operation, the flooring falls into disrepair and requires cosmetic repairs. In some cases, the restoration of the coating is carried out before the expiration of the warranty period of the floor.
The reasons may be as follows: the use of soft wood for the manufacture of a floor that is mounted in rooms with high traffic, poor quality of installation work performed without taking into account the requirements of technology, lack of proper parquet maintenance.
To find out the degree of wear, free the floor from all types of coatings, clean it from dirt. Parquet is restored by grinding in the following cases:
- If only small scratches and cracks are visible, marks from furniture and pet claws.
- Some of the dies have cracked, and large gaps have appeared between them.
- The varnish has faded and lost its original appearance.
- The planks loosened and began to creak. To get rid of the unpleasant sensation, fix the parts to the base with self-tapping screws, drowning the head by 2-3 mm.
- When tapping on the planks, a dull sound is heard, which means there is a void under the board. To get rid of it, drill a hole in the tree and fill the space underneath with glue using a syringe. You can also nail down the dies or secure with self-tapping screws.
Place a long ruler on the floor and measure the gap underneath. If the gap is more than 2 mm, the strips in one area are worn out and need to be reworked. The simplest solution to the problem that has arisen is grinding, but sometimes cosmetic repairs do not help.
It is useless to carry out work if the following defects are found:
- If the lumber is dry and gaps of more than 5 mm appear between the planks over a large area.
- The plates swell after getting wet. It is impossible to restore the original condition of the floor.
- The coating has worn out only in one place, where it has the maximum load. For example, near the threshold or in the middle of the room. If the height differences exceed 5 mm, the flooring is dismantled.
- If there are deep potholes or irregularities.
- If the plates constantly get wet from below from damp fumes. They are completely removed and the floor is waterproofed.
- The tree has been eaten away by grinder beetles.
- The room is damp, mold and rot are present.
Choosing a parquet sanding attachment
Modern electrical devices reduce the time spent on surface treatment, but without hand tools for sanding parquet flooring, it will not be possible to level the floor. For comfortable work in the arsenal of the master there should be several working tools different in purpose and arrangement.
Parquet grinders
There are a huge number of varieties of devices for grinding, all of them are used in certain cases.
Drum-type products are intended for roughing, they are not able to create a smooth surface. The working tool has a cylindrical shape, an abrasive belt is fixed on it. Rigid construction tightly presses the skin to the floor, which allows you to remove in one pass from 1 to 1.5 mm, depending on the diameter of the grain. During the procedure, a lot of dust is generated, so the devices are equipped with dust collectors.
The belt-type parquet sander is used for pre-sanding - leveling and stripping. The surface is processed with an abrasive belt glued into a ring, which moves along two rollers like a conveyor. The productivity of the machine depends on the rotational speed of the working tool, from 150 to 500 rpm. Power consumption - 600-700 watts. For the private sector, the recommended tape width is 75 mm.
Disk devices are used at the final stage of repair. In these machines, the plates align one or more flat abrasive wheels. When rotating, the discs eliminate defects remaining after pre-treatment and smooth the surface with high quality. Angle machines are used to process corners, special devices are used to level the areas under radiators and pipes, which, due to their specific shape, are called "boot". In inconspicuous places, you can grind the parquet with a grinder, to which a disc with sandpaper is attached.
Vibration products are versatile and can be used for coarse and fine sanding. In such machines, a flat platform of 100x200 mm with a fixed abrasive plate acts on the floor. The platform reciprocates and levels the deck. For finishing, the vibration amplitude of the base is set to 1-2 mm, for coarse - 5-6 mm. Power consumption - 150-300 watts.
Eccentric devices combine the properties of vibrating and disc machines. During operation, the tool vibrates and rotates at the same time, which ensures high productivity and good processing quality. The product is used for rough and finishing sanding. The modes are regulated by changing the diameter of the circle, vibration and rotation speed.
When choosing a machine for sanding parquet, pay attention to the following characteristics:
- Household appliances have movable tools 7, 5-10 cm wide and are designed for a processing area of up to 10 m2… It is difficult to achieve good smoothness in large rooms; it is necessary to use professional equipment with a sanding belt 20-25 cm wide. The disadvantage of such products is their large weight (more than 100 kg) and dimensions.
- All units have a weak point - a sanding belt, which can be easily damaged by nails or other fasteners.
- Household equipment consumes power within 1 kW, professional - more than 2.5 kW. Not all electrical wiring is designed for this load.
- Choose devices with speed switches, RCDs, limiters that will not damage the wall during the operation.
- The design of the devices should allow quick replacement of the sanding belts and good tension.
- If the parquet is made of walnut or wenge, use only machines with a dust collector for sanding. Dust from such tree species has coloring properties, and it will be difficult to clean the walls.
Manual scraper for sanding parquet
The tool is designed for manual removal of old coatings and rough sanding in hard-to-reach places. The device is able to replace drum-type products if the problem area is small. Due to the high labor intensity, the cycle is not used for working on large areas.
The parquet sander looks like an iron planer with a hook blade. The cutting edge is sharpened on a wedge from the outside. It is recommended to use prefabricated tools, they have very sharp blades of the correct shape. The most comfortable product has a wide handle. The ideal size of the knife is 5 cm, with smaller dimensions, more movements will be required.
Parquet abrasive belt
The width of the belts can be from 60 to 250 mm. The maximum size is used in powerful professional devices. In household appliances, the most popular sizes are 75 and 100 mm. Very narrow canvases (from 6 mm) are used in hard-to-reach places. Also, the choice of skin is influenced by the hardness of the dies and the properties of the type of wood from which they are made.
For work, sandpaper of various densities is used. It is impossible to change the order of using sanding pads, because the next number removes the deeper scratches of the previous one.
Medium for using sanding skins with different grain sizes:
- Abrasive No. 16 is intended for removing the coating created by drying oil or varnish.
- No. 24 - for removing several layers of paint on uneven floors and for sanding old parquet.
- No. 36, 40 - for removing paint and top coat on a flat floor. Sandpaper with such parameters is considered universal and is used more often than others.
- No. 60 - universal paper for deep processing of clean parquet or lacquered flooring.
- No. 80, 100, 120 is used for finishing smoothing of already sanded floor.
Instead of ordinary sanding paper, you can use lindens - the same accessories, only with Velcro. They are easier to attach to the base of working devices.
Drum-type machines can be filled with special tapes on which an arrow is applied. You can only insert the skin in the specified direction.
Parquet sanding technology
Primary sanding is not a precise operation, but before sanding the parquet, it will not hurt to study the instructions for using special equipment and the coating processing technology.
Preliminary work before sanding parquet
Before sanding the parquet with your own hands, perform a series of operations to prepare the premises and equipment for repair:
- Move furniture and other objects out of the room completely that will interfere with your work. Cover the rest of the items with a dust-proof foil.
- Eliminate squeaks and dips in the floorboards.
- Remove nails and screws, clean the floor from dirt. You can sink the fastener heads 2-3 mm into the wood.
- Remove the skirting boards.
- Check the unit's wattage and check if the room has an outlet that matches the product's specifications.
- The grinders are loud, so be sure to stock up on ear muffs.
- Wear a respirator to prevent wood dust from entering the body.
- If you are planning a long procedure, wear tight gloves to avoid an allergic reaction.
Elimination of rough parquet defects
To eliminate gross defects, you can use a drum or belt sander. Attach the coarsest # 16, 24 or 40 grit paper to the moving part of the tool, depending on the type of old floor covering.
At this stage, you can use a working tool of maximum width. Usually a 20 cm wide belt is used for coarse cutting machines. An abrasive with such characteristics will remove dirt, old varnish and the upper weak layer of wood. It is able to quickly cut up to 5 mm of wood.
Lift the unit before switching it on so that it does not cut the floor. Press the "start" button, wait until the working body picks up the required speed. Start moving and at the same time lower the product. It is also necessary to turn off the device while moving in a raised position.
Monitor the operation of the electrical device:
- Do not overload the device. Reducing the belt speed is not allowed.
- Reduce the abrasive load on the floor when the mains voltage decreases.
- During work, check the wear of the sanding cloth and replace it in time.
- Watch out for the product's electrical cables that lie on the floor.
- Control the filling of bags with waste. A large amount of chips and dust slows down the process.
Parquet initial processing
Walk the machine diagonally across the room, at a 45-degree angle to the wall, then turn around and re-process the same strip. Make sure the machine moves along the grain of the tree. In places of turning, movement across the dies is possible. On the artistic parquet, move the apparatus along the perimeter of the room in a spiral.
If the product removes a small layer, and the revolutions are low, adjust the pressure of the tape on the floor with a special screw.
Move the device 10 cm to the side and repeat the operation, during which half of the belt will sand the already treated area. Walk over the entire floor area again, moving parallel to the walls. Hard-to-reach places are processed after leveling the main area.
Examine the floor after sanding the parquet with sandpaper. If there are serious defects, such as cracks or dents, there is no point in continuing to work, the parquet should be replaced.
Use angle grinders or boots in awkward places. Make sure that no steps appear on the floor. If untreated areas remain in place of the skirting board, remove them by moving the unit from the edge of the treated floor towards the wall.
Remove areas in the middle of the room with a circular motion with the tool. The work continues until the entire floor is the same color. Place a long ruler on the base and check the surface quality. The gaps between the ruler and the deck should not be more than 2 mm. Vacuum dust and debris from the surface.
Features of parquet scraping
If the area of difficult areas is small, they can be processed in cycles without the use of electrical devices. Also, in a similar way, manual polishing of parquet near skirting boards and corners is performed. It is hard to move the tool, but there is practically no dust and there is no need to spend money on renting special equipment.
Run a damp cloth over the parquet floor, the planks will get wet and soften. Take the cycle with both hands, press it against the parquet and move it towards you, removing the shavings. If galling occurs, start sanding on the other side of the plate.
Walk backwards over the treated surface. The next strip should overlap the first. If fibers remain on the damp floor, wait for it to dry and re-cycle.
Finishing parquet
The next step is to remove deep scratches and scratches from the flooring that remained after large abrasive grains. We work like this:
- Use # 60 abrasive paper first and then # 80 abrasive paper. Move the sander along the grain of the dice. If the parquet is laid in a herringbone pattern, the appliance should be moved diagonally.
- For a smooth, high-quality surface, use a disc sander with # 80 and # 100 sandpaper. The procedure is carried out in the same way as for rough flooring. Change discs as they wear out.
- Walk the floor 3-4 times, each time with a larger abrasive.
- Clean the surface thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner, even if the product has a built-in dust collector.
- Fill up large gaps and gaps with wood putty. You can add dust from the dust collector to the mixture, which will give the putty the color of the parquet.
- Cover the entire floor with a filler with a rubber trowel. After the solution hardens a little, use an awl to simulate the joints of the dies.
- After the putty is completely dry, once again go over the floor along the fibers with abrasive # 100. The product must be set for minimum pressure. The process stops after achieving perfect smoothness. You can verify the good quality by running your hand over the surface of the flooring.
- Hard-to-reach areas are processed with angular devices and machines with a retractable disc part.
How to sand parquet - watch the video:
The parquet polishing technology is quite complicated, but with good technical equipment and a serious attitude to work, the result will be excellent.
