Refinishing

1. Rent a floor sander from an equipment rental shop. Traditional drum sanders do a good job but are quite heavy and take some getting used to. (It's important to keep a drum sander moving all the time. They work fast and if left standing in one spot can quickly sand a groove in the floor that would be impossible to remove.)

2.Get a good supply of sandpaper (in a range of grits–—36, 60, 80, 100) that will fit your rental machine. Many rental outlets will take back sandpaper you don't use. Ask about it.

3.Clip the heaviest-grit sandpaper (36 grit) into the sander.

4. Run the sander over the floor in the direction of the wood's grain. Push or pull the sander in straight, even strokes. Don't sand across the grain.

5. Remember to keep the machine in motion while it's turned on. If you gouge the floor a little while sanding, go over it again with the sander in several long strokes to even it out.

6. Remove the heavy-grit sandpaper when the whole floor is sanded, and clip a lighter-grain sandpaper (60 grit) into the sander. Sand scratches and lines in the floor as many times as necessary to remove them.

Floors 

7. Go over the floor again with the next lighter grain sandpaper. The key to getting beautiful smooth floors is to move up the grits sequentially from 36 to 60 to 80 to 100.

8. Repeat steps 3 through 10 with an edging machine if your floor sander doesn't reach the edge of the floor. (These can also be found at your rental center.)