Stain mixed with finish?

Q: I’m installing 6″ red pine (unfinished) tongue and groove in my cottage and my installer is suggesting that he won’t need to sand the floor, prior to staining, if the boards are level. Is this true? What about milling marks on the boards etc.?

We’d like the floor stained a medium to dark brown and have a low luster tung-oil looking finish AND I’d like a fast drying, low odour approach. Can the stain and oil finish be mixed together in one application?

A: I have never seen a new floor that didn’t need sanding. It would really be a first if the edges of this floor were all flush and there were no chatter marks from milling. Even a sanding with a fine abrasive, say 100 grit or higher. Then orbital sand the perimeter.

I would not recommend mixing stain with any finish. We are not chemists and don’t know how the end product would react. You could apply your tinted tung oil and find it doesn’t dry well or the stain itself does not disperse evenly and you end up with a blotchy mess. However, Dura Seal has come out with a line of fast dry stains called Quick Coat which can be coated 2-3 hours after application, provided the environment is not a sweat box or temperatures are not low.