This makes sense. How long for they cure? Surely depends on "things" but I would think four or five days. That would put a damper on wall painting work.

This would work but I'd charge extra for the added day and dust prep.

For water based I allow light traffic after 1 day, furniture after 2 days, rugs 4 days.
Oil based finish-add 2 days for foot traffic

I advise people to cap with LVT instead of re finishing the hardwood if they plan on owning and renting out the house for another 10 or more years. If they plan to unload the place earlier then it pencils out to refinish what you got

Leave a few windows open on both sides after floor poly is applied. You don't want to breathe the off-gasses.
Same for paint actually.

I don't know about the chemistry.
A slower cure might be better. Or not.
(ie use of heavy fans with dry furnace running.)
Surface hardening might induce more penetration or more cracking? I've had paint peel before.

I forgot about the contractor's construction paper that I used in my kitchen. East to cover the entire floor before painting - thanks for the reminder.

I should have the time to let the floors fully cure before painting. I have other projects to do during that period (i.e., building a new backyard fence and patio).

If you have a large drop cloth, (or two), all you need to do is put the construction paper around the perimeter and then drop cloths overlapping and covering the rest.

While the floors are in great condition, the finish is wearing down. I want the floors to be as nice as possible to start and I will be doing the floors myself with the help of a very knowledgeable friend. This is my only opportunity to do this while the house is 100% empty - both for floors and painting.

I don't have a whole house fan in this house. I will have industrial vacuum connected to the sanders and when I'm done (after vacuuming and sweeping, I could use a leaf blower to get the dust off the walls & ceilings).

LVT is not an option for me. This is a 95 year old Spanish house and I intend to keep it mostly original. The fact that it has nearly perfect hardwood floors is a huge bonus and I don't want to cover that up (except for area rugs)

That is a great idea. I was just thinking about how many rolls of the paper I would need and it would be a lot.

Are you painting the ceilings as well? If not, you might not need to cover the entire floor. If you are, obviously cover everything. Good luck, looks like a nice place and you show taste by preserving its characteristics.

Also this

Yes, ceilings will be painted. Many of the rooms have curved/coved ceilings. I think just the living room and dining room have squared off ceilings.

I wouldn't refinish those floors. They look good enough to me, for a rental place.

If you insist, to do it right, you'll want to remove the baseboards. Refinish the floor, reinstall the baseboards, then paint.

Paper around the outside, drop cloths in the middle.

But, if the photos above are of the actual house, I'd leave it the hell alone and start renting.

If the floors are in decent shape and don't need repairs, can't you do a process to get the old finish off without sanding and just lay down a new topcoat? My contractor was talking about that at our house. My terminology may not be correct but that was the general idea.