Restoring wood floor

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jon_c

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County Durham
I've got a Victorian pine tongue and groove floor. It's got years of grime and paint etc. on top what I presume was a fairly original dark stain.

A basic stripper like Home Strip paint and varnish remover seems to take off the grime, paint and some stain with a bit of wire wool. Before I order a big vat of it, should I be looking at a different product?

I'm not looking to get it perfect; it's an old house and pristine looks wrong. I gave up trying to hire anyone to do it because half of them never answer or agree a date and the other half seem to be somewhat industrial turn-up, nuke it with a sander, slap on lacquer and leave types which I don't think will provide a very sympathetic treatment.

Test area so far:
0172022213557.jpg
 
Nothing short of several pints of sweat and half a bucket of elbow grease is going to work o_O
To be fair the bits of board i can see look to be in good condition, maybe use up what you have and a light sanding to get rid of the raised grain and any high spots, the finish is down to personal taste so only you can choose over stain/varnish etc. Just remember waxed floors and rugs can be entertaining :eek::)
 
We did ours (old chapel conversion) with sugar soap, mop and bucket and Hoover floor scrubbing machine. Not a pricy item and there are loads of other brands.
It had a tank which you fill with sugar soap solution which trickles out as you move around with the stiff brushes.
Somebody following with mop and bucket to mop it up and rinse with clean water.
Anything too difficult to shift like old paint we just left. When dried out some ROS sanding to smooth it off (not to strip it) followed by Osmo oil.
Some nail pulling or hammering in, some small repairs and patches.
 
We did ours with sugar soap, mop and bucket and Hoover floor scrubbing machine. Not a pricy item and there are loads of other brands.
It had a tank which you fill with sugar soap solution which trickles out as you move around with the stiff brushes.
Somebody following with mop and bucket to mop it up and rinse with clean water.
Anything too difficult to shift like old paint we just left. When dried out some ROS sanding to smooth it off (not to strip it) followed by Osmo oil.
Some nail pulling or hammering in, some small repairs and patches.

Jacob, do you have some photos of the finished floor? I'd be interested to see how it turned out... as I think I've got a similar project being lined up for me by SWMBO.
Thanks.
 
Jacob, do you have some photos of the finished floor? I'd be interested to see how it turned out... as I think I've got a similar project being lined up for me by SWMBO.
Thanks.
Tomorrow.
 
I have found the stainless pan scourers, the type that look like a ball of swarf, work well on this sort of thing.
Oops sorry forgot photo - tomorrow again.
Pan scrubbers a bit fierce. We went in for ordinary scrubbing brushes either hand-held or plastic brushes on the floor machine. Not abrasive at all.
 
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