sanding old floors

tabby aspreme

Hi folks I'm sanding floors in an old house at the moment ,built in mid 1700s, like a lot of old houses the floors are painted black next to the walls and carpeted in the centre, can anyone tell me what exactly this black (paint) is made of as it seems to be more like bitumen or creosote than anything else, i find nitromors breaks it down ok and gives the sander a chance to get at the wood, otherwise the sander belt clogs up immediately. Thanks in advance

jack of all

I'm afraid I can't tell you much about it only that I remember dealing with it in an old house years ago. It definitely has a coal-tar base as it smells quite sweet when scraped. I found the most effective way to remove it was by scraping in conjunction with a heat gun at low temp setting, followed by sanding. Tough work but very effective.

tabby aspreme

Lots of nitromors white spirit and sanding later and the pitch pine looks great, lovely timber to work with