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I recently decided to refinish the hardwood floors on the second story of my home. To do this, I rented a drum sander from a local rental facility, and ran it over the floors up through the procession of grits. The results can be seen at the bottom of the post (note: the floors pictured are not 100% finished with sanding yet, particularly around the edges). I have not yet applied any finish. I noticed after looking at the floors in certain lighting, that I can see small lines that line up with where I used the drum sander's lever to drop the drum into contact with the floor. Will these be extremely obvious and look bad if I apply finish to the floor in its current state? If so, what should I do to minimize the appearance of these depressions? I tried wiping a damp towel across the floor to see what it would look like, but I still would like some advice. Thanks.

hardwood floors hardwood floors hardwood floors hardwood floors

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    In my limited experience with finishing wood pieces, putting a stain or varnish will increase the contrast, and will make it look more noticeable.
    – Matthew
    Commented Jul 16 at 20:10
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    I agree, @Matthew. Post an answer.
    – isherwood
    Commented Jul 16 at 21:07
  • Welcome, ho88it. Please take the tour.
    – isherwood
    Commented Jul 16 at 21:07
  • Thanks... so, since the drum sander created these ripples, is there a different tool you would advise I use to get them out?
    – ho88it
    Commented Jul 16 at 22:08

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As you can see, you are not done with sanding.

Using Stain or Varnish will no cover but do the opposite. It will enhance the differences. That means that the natural differences in the wood will be enhanced.

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  • I see. So what type of sander would you recommend I use? The drum sander I rented is what caused these ripples. Is there a type of sander that I best for removing these slight ripples?
    – ho88it
    Commented Jul 16 at 22:06
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    @ho88it drum sander are tricky to use, basically never stop moving and use same speed of movement, you can try hand held sanders for small surfaces, disk or band
    – Traveler
    Commented Jul 16 at 22:50
  • ok, thanks. I've had some people recommend I get an orbital sander to smooth things out, but I've also heard that can create cross-grain scratches. And, I know there are buffers that I could get as well. What are your thoughts on these?
    – ho88it
    Commented Jul 17 at 12:24
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    Update: I got a U-Sand orbital sander and that did the trick! Those grooves are gone now.
    – ho88it
    Commented Aug 5 at 16:21
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    @ho88it well done
    – Traveler
    Commented Aug 5 at 19:45

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