Davej wrote in news:1ad44d3e-9ac8-4f57-9bab-
:

Went to Home Depot yesterday and see they have two sanders for rent.
One is a belt sander and the other is a large orbital. Both are
intended for floors. I just need to take the varnish off an old floor.
Is the big orbital the best tool for this? The room is 15x20ft. Any
idea how long this will take me or suggestions on the grit to begin
with? Thanks.



large orbital.

If you mean the square one that has the 4 individual round pads, that's
the one I used about 9 mos ago. Did like a 10x12 floor and it came out
awesome. VERY easy to use. Once started you can actually hold and guide
with one hand (not recommended though of course).

It gets VERY close to edges and well into corners and doesn't gouge like
the drum type I've heard can. A small electric sander will get the edges.
You could even get away with a finishing sander.

The other thing I tried was using a pole with a lamb's wool (?)
applicator/cover they had there. Application is fast resulting in no
brush marks or lines. Poly is always "flowing & settling" with previous
edge.