The magical exception of cross-cutting.

If you have a severely scarred, uneven, water-damaged or painted floor then you may want to consider not only starting with a coarse grit, but sanding at an angle to the grain.

This is an important exception to the rule of always sanding with the grain of the wood.

It only applies during the rough sand stage, but it is a very efficient way to speed the process of cleaning and leveling an old floor.

Because of wood’s natural tendency to shred and splinter when it is sanded off-grain, the sander can remove more wood with the same amount of effort when positioned at an angle. The angle does not need to be drastic; sanding just 10-15° off parallel is enough.

The downside of using this procedure is that, after you make an entire pass at an angle, you must follow it with another pass parallel to the grain at the same grit. So, if you do a 24-grit cross-cut pass, your sanding sequence would be 24 diagonal > 24 straight > 36 > 60 > 80.

Newly installed floors can be rough-sanded with 36-grit parallel to the grain.

The rule to remember is that, no matter what grit you choose as your starting point, you must sand, in order, with every grit that is finer than your starting point.

So, if you start with 16-grit, you cannot jump to 36grit; you must go 16 > 24 > 36 > 60 > 80 on both machines.

If you start at 24-grit, you cannot jump to 60; you must go 24 > 36 > 60 > 80 on both machines.

What our training helps you avoid.

What kind of hardwood sanding (or installing) mistakes can Pete’s help me prevent?

Here are some examples of the results of ignorance and overconfidence:

Buy online, or stop by our cute store in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Pete's sells supplies online across the continental U.S., and rents equipment to Minneapolis/St. Paul DIYers. Our store at 186 Fairview Avenue North in St. Paul, MN is at the corner of Fairview and Selby.

It's just the cutest sander rental shop you'll ever visit. Call us at 651-698-5888.

Store hours:

• Monday - Friday: 8:30-5
• Saturday: 8:30-3
• Sunday: Closed

Learn on the equipment you rent.

Pete’s is the only shop that offers a free, hands-on, personal lesson (though in this time of Covid, we require that you schedule all lessons in advance - no walk-in lessons) with every equipment rental.

Our lesson is not just reviewing the low-budget training video that came with the sander, no.

Available only at Pete's storefront in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, this training takes place on a real hardwood floor with the actual machine you are renting. Taught by an actual hardwood flooring contractor, it will address the particular floor project that you are facing. Bring photos of your project.

Get a one-on-one phone consultation with a hardwood flooring expert.

For a small fee of $25, we can provide the wisdom and knowledge that you need to complete your hardwood flooring project.

When you don’t know what you need to do next, that’s when it’s time to call Pete’s Hardwood Floors Help Hotline.

An actual flooring contractor will answer all of your questions!

We have a crack staff with a range of specialties, from carpentry through floor machine maintenance, and we can troubleshoot just about any hardwood flooring mystery thrown our way.

If you are stuck or struggling with your hardwood floor project, one call could save you hours in the long run.