Refinishing used gymnasium flooring

Q: We obtained about 500 sq. ft of maple gymnasium flooring that we want to refinish and install in our cabin. The flooring is probably 50 years old or more and has been heavily waxed, and it looks as though there may be a shellac finish under that. We had to dismantle the flooring but we are at a loss as to the best way of taking the finish down to the bare wood, removing the old gym lines, and then refinishing.

A: You really need to get a professional sander/finisher involved in this if you want a clean, flat floor. If you have absolutely nothing to fill your days for weeks to come, then you can hand scrape it or use little tiny hand tools and chip away at it. That doesn’t make sense to me, but I know that you can’t rent my equipment and it takes a period of apprenticeship to become skilled at using it. Spend some money and save yourself a lot of grief.