Floor sanding and rosehead nails

[Marc]

I've got wide pine flooring that needs to be refinished. The problem is the planks are nailed with rosehead nails. These are forged nails that have kind of blunt pyramids for heads. We love the rustic look, but it presents some potential sanding problems.

The few I can think of are:

1) I don't want the sanding to wreck the look of the nails. 2) These nails stand proud of the flooring. Will they rip up the sanding pads? 3) Will the pads miss the area around the heads, leaving a "halo"?

I would greatly appreciate any ideas on how to do a good job sanding.

Thanks.

[Norminn]

Unless floor sanding has changed, protruding nails would tear up the sandpaper. If you have a tool the same size and shape as the nail head, you can probably countersink them without marring them. If there is a spare nail that can be pulled from an inconspicuous place, it might work as a countersink, up side down. Or grind down a large nail head and round off edges.

[Marc]

Thanks, Norminn, but I'm looking to see if there's some other type of sanding medium. The nail heads are supposed to stick up slightly. The edges of the nail heads are down at or below the surface. But their shape lets the blunt center stick up. These are cut nails with a forged head. Not the same as standard cut nails. It really is a nice look, and all my moulding has the same nails.

It still may rip the paper, but not as bad as the edges of a normal nail would. I was wondering if there was some medium such as Scotch-brite, or maybe even some wire wheel. The flooring is pine, so it doesn't need to be super aggressive.

[Abe]

Bottom line is that you're removing 1/16" or so of floor, and the nails should be sunk that much lower. As for sanding, there's nothing new out there that won't shred on the nail heads. Sounds like you're going to have to sand the floor with a hand unit instead of a drum sander.

Call your professional for the best advice.

[Marc]

Thanks, Abe. I was afraid of that. I guess I'll see what the pros have to say.

[Rod & Betty Jo]

Wood floors can be refinished without sanding......a floor buffer and screen disks can often prep a floor suitably for refinishing......it abrades the finish and removes some of it but is not so aggressive to remove the wood or in your case rounded nail heads. Obviously if the floor is deeply stained, cupped etc. it doesn't remove that either. It is commonly used for gyms and handball courts.....if you wanted step by step instructions feel free to ask away....Rod