Has anybody attempted to sand a Bamboo floor? I've heard that it may be possible to refinish the stranded, formaldehyde free, glue-free type of bamboo flooring. I understand the associated health risk problems Formaldehyde can cause, and that I should expect an awful stench during the job, but the customer may be prepared to pay extra and I would obviously take all safety precautions. I reckon there really is only one way to ensure safety, and that is to try it on a small test area first so have decided to use my Random orbital hand sander with a high numbered abrasive disc connected to the Festool Vac. If it fetches the top layer of finish off, I thought I could then use a Rotary buffer fitted with a high numbered screen for the field. I don't know, but thought perhaps the Hummel would be a bit severe on this type of surface, and I'm scared of using the Flip for the same reason. Any advice would be appreciated as I think we will be asked to sand Bamboo more often now it has become a popular choice by customers wanting an alternative to real wood. Bob www.floorfixer.co.uk
I've sanded a couple of bamboo floors and there fine, they just tend to clog up the Hummel a little but don't worry just strip it down after and give the top roller a good clean. I use lagler abrasives and my girt progression was on 60 Hummel and 60 edge 80 Hummel and festool ro150 to fine up on 100 grit (Hoover) Trio 80 and then 100 Floor was perfect.
I've sanded bamboo floors [new and old] with no issues at all, no smell whatsoever tbh, the floors we sanded were in a nightclub and absolutely minging, needed a 24, 40, 60, 100 then trio as memory serves, stained walnut and in a couple of places it thru to the core and looked like crappy plywood [only 2-3m2] but it was the 3rd time it had been sanded...
Thanks to Alex and Gazhugs for the replies. I was losing confidence and they both gave me the courage to tackle this project. Bob www.floorfixer.co.uk
