Floor sanding sponge pads

Abstract

Floor sanding sponge pads (as referred to as “sponge pads”) are designed to sand both raw (unfinished) or treated (finished with stain, sealer, polyurethane, etc.) floors in order to smooth out surface roughness while applying a sufficient surface texture to allow subsequent application of finish to properly adhere. The sponge pad may have a vacuum hole configuration to remove swarf from the work surface.

1 . A floor sanding sponge comprising at least one abrasive surface supported by a porous backing, wherein the abrasive surface defines openings that provide, in conjunction with the porous backing, fluid communication from the abrasive surface through the porous backing to an opposite side of the sponge. 
     
     
         2 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein the abrasive surface and the porous backing define coterminous openings. 
     
     
         3 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein the porous backing includes an open cell foam material. 
     
     
         4 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 3 , wherein the foam material is a polyurethane. 
     
     
         5 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein the porous backing includes a closed cell foam. 
     
     
         6 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 5 , wherein the closed cell foam includes a polyethylene. 
     
     
         7 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , further including an adhesive, wherein the abrasive surface is attached to the porous backing by the adhesive. 
     
     
         8 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , further including a hook-and-loop fastener, wherein the abrasive surface is attached to the backing by the hook-and-loop fastener. 
     
     
         9 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein the sponge includes two abrasive surfaces, each abrasive surface being on an opposite side of the sponge. 
     
     
         10 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein the porous backing includes a laminated scrim. 
     
     
         11 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 10 , where the laminated scrim is a flame laminated scrim. 
     
     
         12 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein at least one abrasive surface of the sponge defines a pattern. 
     
     
         13 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein the abrasive surface includes at least one abrasive component that is selected from the group consisting of 60 grit, 80 grit, 100 grit, 150 grit and 180 grit. 
     
     
         14 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 1 , wherein the sponge has a circular shape. 
     
     
         15 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 14 , wherein the sponge has a diameter in a range of between about 12 inches and 20 inches. 
     
     
         16 . The floor sanding sponge of  claim 15 , wherein the sponge has a diameter in a range of between about 15 inches and 18 inches. 
     
     
         17 . A method for sanding a floor comprising the step of abrading a surface with a floor sanding sponge comprising at least one abrasive surface supported by a porous backing, wherein the abrasive surface defines openings that provide, in conjunction with the porous backing, fluid communication from the abrasive surface through the porous backing to an opposite side of the sponge. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the abrasive surface and the porous backing define coterminous openings. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the porous backing includes an open cell foam material. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the foam material is a polyurethane. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the porous backing includes a closed cell foam. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the closed cell foam includes a polyurethane. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 17 , further including an adhesive, wherein the abrasive surface is attached to the porous backing by the adhesive. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 17 , further including a hook-and-loop fastener, wherein the abrasive surface is attached to the backing by the hook-and-loop fastener. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the sponge includes two abrasive surfaces, each abrasive surface being on an opposite side of the sponge. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the porous backing includes a laminated scrim. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , where the laminated scrim is a flame laminated scrim. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein at least one abrasive surface of the sponge defines a pattern. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the abrasive surface includes at least one abrasive component that is selected from the group consisting of 60 grit, 80 grit, 100 grit, 150 grit and 180 grit. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the sponge has a circular shape. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the sponge has a diameter in a range of between about 12 inches and 20 inches. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the sponge has a diameter in a range of between about 15 inches and 18 inches. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the surface being abraded includes a floor treatment. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the floor treatment is a urethane. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the surface is abraded by manually directing the floor sanding sponge across the surface. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the surface is abraded by automated abrasion of the surface.