Sanding contoured solid wood flooring - advice please!

rarees1

We replaced the floor in our bungalow well over 10 years ago with oiled floor boards from B & Q.  We used to home board dogs.  I'm not bothered by the scratches but there are patches on a few boards where spills of their drinking water has affected them. 

It's not serious damage, just the oil has worn away and there are patches where the oak has gone a bit greyish.  It's not terribly deep - I've sanded a small area by hand and the wood and grain look great; however it took absolutely ages because the wood is so very hard and contoured on both long edges.  

Can anyone please advise me the best and least painful way of sanding them?  Of course I intend to refinish with oil once completed.



 

flashg67

an orbital sander would seem to be a decent option.You can also buy foam pads that sit under the sandpaper that allow more flexibility for uneven surfaces.

ButterCheese

Do you mean the contoured gaps between the boards?  A flexible sanding block as mentioned above can be squidged into shape but it doesn't stay in shape unless it's lodged into a gap.  The other option is to try to shape a bit of wood to the contour shape, or find somehting that is the same size/shape, and wrap sandpaper over that.  I have had some success with a triangular detail sander and using an end/edge of that.  You do go through a lot of sanding material that way but you can effectively drag the point or the edge down through, and the electric vibration makes the sideways movements for you so less scrubbing is required