A real oak floor from the old days is great. I was saying the same thing thirty years ago, but it’s still true. There’s a lot less work and expense refinishing one than replacing it. And it’s a shame to tear up an existing hardwood floor just to replace it with more dead oak trees.

Find a good paint store and discuss finishes with them. They will have samples you can look at. What you use depends on the look you want. Personally I’d stay away from any dark stain. Let the beauty of the wood show. Also, a dark finish over light wood will really show up any future dings in the floor. You’ll probably need to use a multi-step process. First seal and finish the wood, then protect it with a compatible clear top coat. You’ll probably need to lightly sand between coats, just as you would refinishing a car. They have some decent one-step finishes that I’ve used on doors and woodwork. I don’t know if I’d trust them for floors, though.

Pull the baseboard—use flat bars and preserve it if you can. Keep track of what piece goes where so you can get them all back in place after the job.

Rent a big floor sander and an orbital sander. (Orbital describes the micro-circular sanding motion. Orbital sanders have a rectangular sanding plate.) They make little teardrop shaped sanders now that look like just the thing for getting into the corners, but I’ve never used them. If I had to redo a hardwood floor today I’d probably try one. In the day I just used a block of wood wrapped with sandpaper to get right into the corners. Or a burnished scraper plate, depending. Knee pads help. Use the big sander to get the main surface. Use the orbital sander and sanding-block/teardrop sander to get into the small areas and corners.

Sweep and vacuum the room before applying finish. The whole room. Ceiling, walls, windows and sills, floors. Repeat several times. Tiny motes of dust will look like molehills under your new hardwood finish.

I use a 3” cutting brush around the edges by the walls. Then a paint roller and pan for covering the big areas. Work quickly so that the edges aren’t set by the time you roll the main surface. Don’t paint yourself into a corner.