Rented a floor sander from Home Depot and ruined my hardwood

I thought I'd save some money refinishing the living room floor myself. The rental guy told me 36 grit would get the old finish off fast, but I didn't realize how aggressive it was. After two passes I had gouges an eighth of an inch deep in the oak. Cost me 800 bucks to have a pro come in and fix it with a drum sander and filler. Anyone else had a rental tool turn into a disaster? What sander grit do you actually use for old Edmonton homes?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.brian23h ago

36 grit took off a quarter inch on my first pass, had to stop immediately.

spencerw7223h agoMost Upvoted

Three inches of glue line on a 36 grit belt wouldn't do that unless you were leaning on it real heavy. I run 36 grit on hard maple all the time and it takes maybe 1/16th per pass if I'm pushing too hard. Your mileage may vary but that sounds like either a really soft wood or you had the sander tilted and caught the edge wrong. Check your tool's RPM rating too because some of the cheaper drum sanders spin faster than they should and just rip material off.