Cosmetic surgery began about three weeks ago on Phil Lobb Gymnasium. Athletics director Brandon Parker and Tonganoxie High boys basketball coach David Walker have spent hours refurbishing walls and railings with white and red paint. Repaint-ing the red bleachers likely will be finished this week.

The brunt of this surgery, though, also includes a more difficult task — erasing 40 years of age from the gym floor.

The original floor, which was installed in 1966, slowly is transforming into a brighter, more vibrant hardwood surface. Floors Unlimited of Independence, Mo., began the remodeling July 1 by sanding the court.

“I got chills when I saw it this morning,” Parker said last Wednesday. “That’s the way a court should look.”

The price tag for the project has been tabbed at $13,000 to $14,000 — $5,000 for the paint job and between $9,000 and $10,000 to restore the floor.

Last Wednesday, workers pushed two upright sanders around the court’s perimeter and along the baselines, grinding off years of wax and paint.

The company will use a larger machine the size of three sanders for the middle of the court. Both methods include the use of 16-grit sandpaper, which Parker said gets the job done.

“If you wanted to sand down the moon, you’d use that,” Parker said.

The company will stick to the floor business, and it’s been quite an undertaking with the old THS surface.

Sander Matt Buetow, Blue Springs, Mo., said the project has been time-consuming. He and fellow sander Jason Trisler, Independence, Mo., had been working on another floor in worse shape than Tonganoxie’s, but the company sent the men here to get a head start. Luckily for Tonganoxie, it has a durable surface made of maplewood.

“What we’ve heard from people is that you can’t find it anymore,” Parker said. “It’s high quality.”

When the new floor is finished — by Aug. 11 — spectators probably won’t recognize it.

A substantially lighter floor won’t have red paint in the basketball lanes, nor will it have green and blue lines for volleyball courts. A large Chieftain head will be painted on the center court, while Tonganoxie High signage will face the east and west balcony sides.

And instead of very visible blue and green volleyball lines, the school will use a gold paint, which will be less distracting to basketball players.

And without extensive paint in the lanes and at mid-court, Parker said the floor can be better maintained.

“The less paint you have on the floor the better it is for your finish,” Parker said.

A Chieftain head will be positioned again on the south wall, while mascots of other league schools eventually will be replaced by nameplates because Parker said many of the mascots aren’t correct anymore.

As for banners on the north wall, they will come down and championship recognition in the form of individual plates will appear on the north wall, leaving that side bare.

It’s not clear when all of those changes will be completed, but Parker hopes to have the gymnasium completely refurbished in three years.

After the floor is completed next month, the athletics director wants to make sure it stays in top condition. That means drinks and food won’t come near the floor.

“We’re not doing this to have a glorified lunch room,” Parker said.