Do these floorboards look shite?

[GreengrassofW]

Days and days of sanding but i think they still look grubby and shite. Would you paint or varnish? I think if i sand them anymore I'll lose my mind

Agree sorry. Is that the sander you've been using? In which case I'm not surprised - you need a much bigger one. That said once you varnish they will look better.

Hmm, they don't look great.

You didn’t do them with a small hand sander did you? You need a big professional one to take the top layer of wood off. I did mine about 20 years ago and hired a big push along sander.

I say “I” but it was too heavy for me, so I had to outsource it to DH.

Something like this Sander

Rent a professional one and you will be done in a half day. Wax, don't varnish

Use a bigger sander….will look miles better ….you won’t regret it

They're filthy. What kind of wood are they? I wouldn't varnish that would need an industrial sander to see it you can do anything with them but not all floorboards are good enough to be exposed.

@Park24 100 year old pine floorboards with decades and decades of bitumen. I've already tried a belt sander, but fairly useless because they're uneven (belt only gets to the high ones). Hence using the edger.

I love the natural knots etc but yes they do look grubby. Could you try a dark wax or a coat of very thin paint that still shows the natural wood through but blends the black/dark patches a bit?

I'm afraid you need to sand them again.

Don’t varnish because it will look horrible when it starts wearing off - speaking from experience and having to do it again!

Hire a proper floor sander , it’s hard work but will be huge difference
or paint !!
sanding would be my 1st thought but hand sanding won’t do it
good luck

@Mrsgreen100 I have hired a proper floor sander, it's just not in the photo because of the unlevel boards, it doesn't reach the ones underneath

I hired an expert to do mine and wax. Was cheaper than I expected

@lovelydayIhave i agree with you, but just really kicking myself as already wasted so many hours on this, should have just ripped the out and replaced with tongue and grove redwood planks, which would look a million times better and not so carcinogenic.

I think you need to keep sanding - eventually you’ll get to the lower parts. It’ll only be a couple of mm difference surely? Of are there big undulations?

@Icanttakethisanymore your username made me laugh!
Yes I think you're right. I just need to suck it up and keep going or paint them.
In addition, some of the boards have been stained in a past life, and it's soaked through beyond a few mm so no amount of sanding seems to shift it

I feel sorry for you.

I think you just need to keep going with very rough paper. Eventually it should sand them flat.

@Papricat yes, it's a sorrowful situation. 😂😩😭

Don't seal or varnish them while they're in this state - it'll look terrible and you'll be creating more work for yourself or whoever you inevitably pay to strip the boards and do it properly.

Bitumen can be a real pain because it gums up the sand paper - not sure what sort of sander you hired, but hopefully you bought a ton of additional belts/discs? An orbital sander with 60 grit discs should not take too long (a day per room?) to strip the boards. Doesn't matter if the boards are cupped - the sander should be powerful enough to take off a few mil in a couple of minutes. Even a battery operated orbital sander can manage that (pine is really soft). Then it's a case of working your way down to 120+ grit.

Haha, I should lend you my username for this thread as I imagine it accurately describes your current attitude to those floor boards 😂

Keep going, they’ll look grand in the end.

Yes! But they won't! Keep going with the industrial sander and make sure they are all level and secure. They may need screwing down so they're not so up and down

Paint them white! MY friend was unhappy with how hers came up and it ended up looking gorgeous when she painted it. She is really good at interior design her house is stunning.

I think you'd surprised about how good they would look with a dark stain and a few coats of varnish. Will look great with light walls. Test an area. I have had stripped boards in three houses now.

For the love of God, don't paint them white. It might work in an interior designer's house or magazine but not in the real world.

You need heavy grit papers , and an upright sander big one it will literally eat the floor !
modern one
I’ve sanded dozens of floors , some are harder than others but right papers and really good sander will do it ,
replacing the floor will cost a bomb
if you paint it make sure to use a really good product, and will need 3 coats at least including undercoat