We bought a 1910 house with heart pine floors. The person we hired to sand and refinish them said that since the floors had been finished at one time around the area rugs, he could not get rid of the rug image. Is this true? -Patricia

Hi Patricia,

Most stains and differences from previous finishes should come out if the floors are thoroughly sanded, starting with coarse sandpaper and working up to finer grits. This may not be possible, however, if the stains are too deep or the floors have been sanded several times, leaving the wood above the groove too thin.

Also, keep in mind that heart pine can be difficult to sand, since the pine resin in the wood tends to gum up the sandpaper, particularly when using finer grits.

You can find out more in our video on How to Refinish Wood Floors.

Good luck with your project,

Tags: , finishing, floor, Flooring, heart pine, refinish, stain