About the Trio
The Lagler Trio is a very versatile machine that every hardwood company should have. The Trio can be used during every phase of sanding to ensure the best end product of a hardwood floor refinish or installation. It has a planetary head turning 3 rotating discs that are 8″ in diameter. The rotating discs ensure there are no scratches left over that are visible. The Trio’s main function is making your floor flatter then even a belt sander can make it and is about 2x better than any buffer can do. It is particularly good at sanding hardwood in hallways & other smaller areas a belt sander will not be able to get to thus giving those harder ares a flatter floor where it usually might not. If you run your hand over a hallway done with an edger the boards are very uneven, with a Trio your hardwood floor will be perfectly flat.
What a Trio Does
- Cut the floor to be perfectly flat
- Leaves no scratch marks – if done right on stains (read below)
- Polishes the floor to be as smooth as possible
- Contains all dust it produces
- Leaves floor perfect for stains – no scratches can be seen that a buffer usually leaves behind
The Trio in Action
Trio Competitors
Clark 3ds – This is basically the same thing as the Trio but it is trying to recreate the trio experience & quality. This is a suitable substitute for a trio.
Bona PowerDrive – This machine is a gear driven machine that is like a trio. I would say this is a suitable substitute for a trio. However, after owning one, I would say the trio is better in the long run since it is better built. The electronics on this are more a pain and have broken down a few times.
Bona Multi-Disc – This item is a buffer attachement with 6 discs but the problem is it uses a traditional buffer to power it. A buffer is 100-125 lbs vs a Trio that weighs 200~ lbs and meant to cut the floor evenly. A mutli-disc will not cut the floor evenly or even very smooth. This attachment also leaves many scratch marks in the floor while the 3ds and trio will not leave them.
Traditional Buffer – A traditional buffer is of the past. A very light machine that is good for polishing and that is about it. It will not cut your floor flat.
The Trio is very unique, it is used after your belt sander and it will fully flatten the floor so that there are no edges or dips/valleys. The traditional methods of a hardwood floor refinish include a belt sander and a converted piece of equipment called a buffer. With the Lagler Trio you are actually getting a machine that was meant to smooth your floor to perfection leaving no edges, dips, high spots or sanding marks on the floor. After using the machine vs our old tradition buffers you can actually feel a big difference in the floor. The buffers leave the floor much rougher and uneven compared to to the Trio. The Lagler Trio is the only way to get the smoothest of floor finishes and will leave you with a more defined floor look. If you are getting your hardwood floors refinished a true planetary head is a must to get the floor to be perfect.
The Lagler Trio and Staining
Staining with the trio on certain woods can be interesting. It is rarely talked about, but if you do the right process it works wonderfully. I have gone to the PST school and I personally think their method is flawed. Below for stained floors works on any wood you do. Where we are located we do a lot of hickory stains which need a special process or you will see every scratch from the trio. If you do it the right way the floor is seriously flat, no scratches and looks better and takes less time than with a buffer.
The process of using a Trio Properly for Stained Floors:
- 40/60 grit Lagler Hummel
- edger here
- 60 grit Lagler Trio
- 100 grit light pressure on Lagler Hummel (cross grain areas you can not get – need to get trio scratches out)
- 100 Trio paper with weight
- 100 Trio with screens/yellow pads with no weight
Sanding process for non stained floors – Soft wood: (natural)
- 50/60 grit lagler hummel
- edger here
- 60/80 trio with weight
- 100 lagler hummel – light pressure
- 100 trio
Sanding process for Oaks (natural)
- 40/60 Lagler Hummel
- edger here
- 60 Trio
- 80 Trio
Sanding Process for Hickory or Hardwoods (natural)
- 40/60 Lagler Hummel
- edge here
- 60 trio
- 80 trio
