The FA-8 Saves The Day - A First Hand Account 

“We were using a 220 screen and it wasn’t abrading correctly. The floor was dulling the screens way too fast. We just couldn’t get it etched. After two passes I told myself, ‘This isn’t working,’” said Dion Ward, finishing team leader.

“I called the office and told them, ‘We need an FA-8 so we can abrade this floor properly to ensure the finish will stick’. So I picked two of them up and we abraded the floor and it turned out beautifully.”

“Our traditional methods weren’t working,” said Mike Hinsch, the company’s owner.

Having used the FA-8 previously, Ward was quick to turn to the latest in floor abrasion technology. Ward knew that the FA-8 is the perfect alternative and a simpler method to re-finishing wood floors.

“After the crew called, we immediately called Clarke American Sanders to see what kind of answers and options they had. They recommended the FA-8, which we had used before. It seemed to be the ideal piece of equipment for the job and it turned out to be so,” Hinsch said.

Ward and the crew were impressed with the machine’s comfortable use and powerful performance. Even though the machine is simple and easy to operate, user-friendly, and comfortable, it still packs quite the punch and doesn’t lack any of the production or results compared to the traditional screen and re-coat method.

“I knew I was getting the floor etched enough so that the new finish would stick, and that’s the main thing. If you don’t get the floor etched properly then the new finish will not stick. It will peel and scratch up. But the FA-8 worked perfectly. It did an excellent job,” Ward said.

The FA-8 is loaded with features and benefits that make the machine perfect for any sanding fleet. The machine operates on 120V and only uses 8 amps, uses durable and lasting brushes that can abrade up to 50,000 square feet per brush, sports a tool-free quick change brush design, easily dismantles into three component pieces for loading and storage, and more.

Ward said he was pleased with and enjoyed the numerous features the FA-8 has but also noted it’s as simple and easy to use as a common household cleaning machine.

“It’s very simple and easy to use. Anybody could walk behind the machine. It’s no different than using a vacuum on carpet. I mean, it’s that simple. It’s also quiet, comfortable to use, and controls the small amount of dust it creates. It’s quite easy to change the brush as well. With one brush I had no problem cutting through the finish.”

The results Ward and the crew experienced with the FA-8 coupled with the ever-changing market will begin to lead more and more people to use it, Ward said. Its advantages compared to the traditional method make it a worthy alternative, eliminating the hassle of juggling several machines and guaranteeing the same or better results.

“You need something that isn’t going to strip the stain off the floor but get it abraded quite well. The screen technique will get down into the finish on high points and take the stain off the boards, which you have to go back and touch up,” Ward said.

“But with the FA-8 you don’t have that problem. You just go over it, and it abrades it. You don’t have to worry about high or low spots. You don’t have to worry about water damage. It’s designed to do hard scrapes, distressed floors. It’s great on floors like that, where it thoroughly gets down into the lower areas of the wood,” Ward added.

The positive experience of operating the machine with the results it provides make the FA-8 an extremely viable option for re-finishing floors, especially pre-finished floors.

“On a pre-finished floor, and there are a lot of them out there, you need a different way to etch them and get the new finish to adhere. This machine really does a good job. On all pre-finished floors, it’s highly recommended. If you use the FA-8 and go back to the screen and re-coat method, you’re going to have some hesitation, as in you really don’t want to use a buffer and a 220 screen. You’d rather use the FA-8,” Ward said.

In the end, Ward and Hinsch both expressed their admiration and appreciation of the job and results the FA-8 was able to produce when the traditional method of re-finishing floors wasn’t getting the job done.

“Everything worked perfectly. The machine doesn’t walk on you, runs back and forth perfectly. It never clogged up and always abrades evenly. The main thing is getting it abraded evenly, from each side of the brush. The etching was also perfect.”

“I don’t know how we would have finished if we hadn’t had something of that nature,” Hinsch said.

Click here for more information on the FA-8.

For more information or more details on the first-hand account of using the FA-8:

The Wood Floor Gallery, Inc.
13465 Puppy Creek Road, Suite G
Springdale, AR 72762
Phone: 479-872-0102
www.woodfloorgallery.net
mikehinsch@woodfloorgallery.net

About Clarke
Clarke American Sanders began in 1903 as The American Floor Surfacing Machine Company and built the first floor sanding machine on record with the U.S. Patent Office. 100 years later, Clarke American Sanders remains the worldwide leader in the design and production of wood floor sanders and edgers for the professional contractor as well as the do-it-yourselfer. Today we continue this heritage with innovative equipment designs focusing on performance, reliability and user ergonomics while furthering our investments in state-of-the-art product testing facilities, quality enhancement processes and upgraded production methods.