Lowe’s Floor Sander Rental: Everything You Should Know

 

If you don’t own a floor sander, the first item on your to-do list may be to look into Lowe’s floor sander rental. If you plan on refinishing one or more hardwood floors in your home, you need the proper equipment to get the job done right. 

Lowe’s Floor Sander Rental: Everything You Should Know

Refinishing hardwood floors is a great and relatively simple DIY project, provided you can get the right tools. Lowe’s might be your first thought when you want a floor sander rental.

But a Lowe’s sander rental service doesn’t exist. Below, we have the list of the top sanders for sale at Lowe’s and where else to rent a floor sander.

Lowe’s Floor Sander Rental

Lowe’s does not rent floor sander equipment. After being in contact with Lowe’s customer service representatives, it was confirmed that the company does not rent out floor sanders.

Some Lowe’s locations rent out power tools, but sanders are not available for rent at any location. If you’re interested in other power tool rentals, you can contact your local Lowe’s to find out which tools are available.

Different Types of Floor Sander at Lowe’s

Although you won’t be able to rent a floor sander at Lowe’s, the home improvement store does sell sanders. Keep in mind, Lowe’s does not sell full-size floor sanders only hand-held sanders. You can use hand-held sanders to sand a floor.

Drum Sanders

Drum sanders are very efficient, but their power can make them difficult to control if you don’t have experience using a sander.

Also, since drum sanders only sand in one direction, you’ll need to pay attention to the direction of your wood grain to avoid messing up the final finish of your floor.

Orbital Sanders

Orbital sanders are gentler on floors and easy to pick up and use, but that means it can take much longer to sand your floors — and an orbital sander might not have the power you need to get off paint, caked-on varnish, or smooth any serious dings or scratches.

How to Get Professional Results With a Floor Sander

Materials

  • Drum Sander (80 grit sandpaper, 100 grit sandpaper, 120 grit sandpaper)
  • Multi Tool with corner sanding attachment
  • Hand-held Orbital Sander
  • Shop Vacuum
  • Dust Collector
  • Microfiber cloth or Tack cloth
  • Varathane Floor Polyurethane Satin
  • “Water Wiz” water-based floor finish applicator
  • Varathane Floor Finish Applicator
  • Pole Sander  (220 grit sandpaper)
  • Dust Mask, Eye Protection, Hearing Protection

Step 1: Prep the Room and Floor 

Remove all furniture from the space. Carefully remove all baseboard trim. Tip: Use a pry bar with a thin block of wood against the wall to protect the drywall.

Also, number the back of the trim and the wall so that putting it back is easy. If your space is open, consider sealing it off with plastic to reduce dust from traveling.

Step 2: Pick up your Floor Sander 

Rent a floor sander, and purchase sandpaper from the Tool Rental Center at your Home Depot store. The associate there will be able to help you estimate how much sandpaper you’ll need.

It’s also returnable if you purchase too much. We used 80-grit, 100-grit, and 120-grit sandpaper. If your floors have more damage or an uneven surface, you may need to start at a lower grit.

At first, we were apprehensive about renting a drum sander because they can easily cut the floor too much. After doing a little research and talking with the associates at the Tool Rental Center, we decided to give it a try.

Step 3: Prop the Sander 

Place the sandpaper on the drum. We used 80 grit to start; this reduced the risk of making cut marks. The sandpaper slides on and off without any adjustment. It’s fairly tight, so it takes a little effort, but we found it only needed to be changed a few times.

The sander has a dust collector bag which works fairly well. If you’d like to increase the dust collection, attach a shop vacuum where the dust collector bag connects.

We also recently purchased a dust collector for our wood shop. It worked very well at capturing airborne dust. This isn’t essential but really helped keep the air clean. We used it both while we sanded and after.

Step 4: Sand your Floor 

Place the power cord over your shoulder to avoid running it over with the sander. Running with the board, start on one side of the room, turn the sander on, and lower the drum as you start moving to feather the cut.

You’ll also want to raise the drum as you get to the opposite wall to again feather the cut.

It’s important to keep the sander moving at all times when the drum is down to avoid it cutting too deep. It is easy to raise the drum up and down, so we found it easy to avoid cutting too deep.

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Step 5: Sand the Edges of the Room 

This step can be done before or in conjunction with the main sanding. Using a sander with a corner attachment, sand all corners with 60-grit sandpaper.

Sand all edges with the handheld orbital sander with 60-grit sandpaper.

Step 6: Remove any Excess Finish 

Since we didn’t use an aggressive grit sander paper (i.e. 24 grit) we had a few spots where the finish was left on our floors – where the floors were slightly uneven and the sander couldn’t reach. We removed any excess finish with the handheld orbital sander.

This step could have been avoided if we used a more aggressive paper. Since this was our first time with the drum sander, we opted to add this step to avoid potentially damaging our floors.

Once finishing all of the sanding steps with the 80 grit paper, repeat the sanding steps with 100 grit sandpaper and then again with 120 grit. The first pass is the most difficult, and the higher grits go faster.

Step 7: Remove all Dust From your Space 

To start, we wore clean socks to prevent any oils from discoloring the unsealed floors. Vacuum the floors very well, especially crevices.

Remove dust from all walls and windows with a clean microfiber cloth or tack cloth.

Finish the floors with a clean microfiber cloth or tack cloth. The cloth can also be attached to a pole sander for larger spaces. Once done, lower the blinds to prevent direct light from hitting the sealer for application and curing.

Carefully look over the space to make sure all dust has been removed to prevent it from sticking to the finish.

Step 8: Seal the Floors

We wanted the wood to look as natural as possible, so we decided on Varathane Floor Polyurethane in Satin. After reading several reviews online, we were confident that it would go on well and be durable.

We opted for a water-based Polyurethane. Since we’re living here while we refinished the floor, we wanted an odor-free sealant. Also, oil-based sealant tends to yellow over time, and we wanted it to stay as close to the natural wood color as possible.

Rinse the floor finish applicator under water and remove any loose fuzz, then attach the applicator to a pole.

We tried two different applicators and highly recommend the “Water Wiz“. It helped put on an even coat without building up the sealer.

Wearing clean socks, we started in the furthest corner of the room. We placed the sealant tray on a clean plastic bag to catch any drips.

To get started, we cut in the edges with a paintbrush and brushed the floor poly on. It helps to have two people for this step, one to cut in and the other to do the overall.

Also, if one person stays low, they can catch the reflection of the sealer and tell the other where to apply more.

Don’t over-brush the sealer, it will self-level. Work your way to the exit. Let the sealer dry and reapply per the instructions on the sealant. We applied four coats, waiting two hours between coats.

Step 9: Finish the Floors 

There were tiny fibers of wood that stuck up after the first coat of sealer. Per the instructions on the sealant, we put on three coats of sealer.

Let it dry for two hours between coats and used a drywall pole sander with 220 grit sandpaper all over the floor to gently sand it.

After removing the dust with a microfiber cloth, we applied the final coat of sealer. Note: for our 20 x 10 space, we used about half a gallon of sealant.

Step 10: Let the Sealant Cure 

We let the sealant cure per the directions. The longer you wait, the more durable it will be!

Lowe’s is not the place if you want a hardwood floor/orbital floor sander rental. Lowe’s sander rental service is non-existent. Although you can’t get a floor sander rental at Lowe’s, the home improvement store does sell hand-held sanders.

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