Should I sand timber floors before filling holes?

[Sminimori]

Hi, 

Need some help and advice. I have ripped up the very old cork tiles that were in this old laundry area. After several hours of removing all the staples and nails yesterday I am left with a semi decent condition floor which i want to restore given the floor beyond this area is the same timber and varnished. 

My question, when should I fill the holes. Should I:

Sand back the whole area, retain the sawdust and then fill the holes with PVA glue and a mix of that sawdust, dry, sand down them areas softly and then stain and treat the whole floor, or

Sands everything, coat the floor and then colour match the floors with a standard colour wood filler. 

Also this is a stadard harwood floor in a Queensland 1980s house. The floors elsewhere were recoated about 20 years ago and held up beautifully. The owners advise they use a hardener. 

I have both cabots hardener, and I will buy the the cabots, gloss oil as given the rest of the floor was done that long ago I am guessing it was oil based. 

Another dumb question, have they stained this floor or is it just the colour coming through once oiled and if stained any ideas on colour - for standard finish in old houses. The tone is reddy brown rest of floors. See door frame at photos showing rest of floor

Thoughts, I did youtube this and a quick google but couldn't get a definitive answer on this. The holes are mostly small, except for the odd nail. Please help. 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Sminimori,

The best approach is to start by sanding the entire area before doing any filling. Begin with a coarse grit, such as 40–60, to remove old residue and level the surface, then move up to 80 grit and finish with 120 grit to get a smooth finish. This initial sanding will expose clean timber, making it easier to see where gaps or nail holes need filling. Make sure to vacuum thoroughly between each sanding stage so no dust remains on the surface. Make sure your vacuum is empty and clean before doing this, as the clean sawdust will be essential for the next step.

Once the floor is clean and smooth, you can fill the holes with a mix of PVA glue and sawdust. This mix will work perfectly because it is using the same material as your floorboards, so it will blend naturally in terms of colour. After the filler has dried, give the area a light final sand with fine paper (100–120 grit) to even everything out and remove any excess.

The reddish-brown colour you see is most likely the natural hue of the hardwood brought out by the oil, not a stain. To confirm, wipe a small hidden section with mineral turpentine — if the same warmth appears, no stain was used. 

Replicating what was used elsewhere would certainly be the way to go. As the Cabot's 250ml Clear CFP Hardener is a product designed for use with oil-based CFP products, the Cabot's 4L Gloss Cabothane Clear CFP Floor Polyurethane seems like the way to go.

Check out How To Sand Timber Floors and How To Seal Timber Floors for some further guidance.

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Jacob

[Sminimori]

Thank you Jacob!