What is the difference between a sand and refinish and sandless refinishing (buff & recoat)?
The Sand and refinish process involves sanding wood floors down 1/16-1/8″ to the bare wood and reapplying multiple coatings of floor finish. Sanding the floor removes scratches, dents, water spots, stains, and other inconsistencies. Although sanding and refinishing is for those floors with more severe damage, many floors just need a buff and recoat. Buff & Recoat (Sandless Refinishing) is a sprucing up or preventative maintenance procedure. This process involves buffing the floor with a light grit sanding screen. The screening abrades the existing finish to allow a new coating to bond. The buffing also removes some of the surface scratches. The buffing is followed by applying a single coating. Recoating will not remove scratches, dents or dings that have penetrated the finish layer.
