Safety

• When handling any sort of power tool, you should always wear protective goggles. Since you will be sanding wood and creating lots of dust, it is important that you also wear a protective face mask so you don't breathe the wood dust. This is especially important if you are sanding down a finished floor. The dust from the finish can be hazardous, particularly if the floor was finishing with polyurethane.
  
  

Initial Sanding

• When working on a hardwood floor, you have to sand in stages. The first stage involves stripping the original finish from the wood. To do this, fit your orbital sander with an 80- to 100-grit sanding pad. This range is considered medium-grade and is used primarily to strip wood and make the surface even and level. When sanding, never let the sander linger on any one spot -- always keep the sander in motion.
  
  

Buffing

• Once the wood is stripped and evenly sanded, you need to switch out the first pad and trade it for a 180- to 220-grit sanding pad. This range is considered fine-grade sandpaper and is used for smoothing the surface of the wood. Medium-grade sandpaper can leave the wood feeling a little rough, which is not desirable for hardwood flooring. Even though this sanding pad is a finer grade, you should never let the sander linger. Otherwise you will have an uneven floor.
  
  

Cleaning

• By now, your floor is likely covered in wood dust, which you will have to remove before you can start restaining the floor. Sweep up the bulk of the dust with a push broom and discard it. Use a tack cloth or a damp cloth to wipe up the remaining dust. Allow the floor to dry and give it at least one more pass with a damp cloth to make sure you have all of the dust.