Q: I just had red oak floors water popped and stained dark, then 3 coats of oil based poly applied. There are many areas where thin grains or raw wood edges are showing, the stain stripped off, 100+. My installer is going to fix it by coloring each with a permanent marker? Is this the correct fix?
A: If your floors are old 3/8 strip I can understand how, when buffing between coats a board edge may get ‘nipped’ and the stain removed. This is because the thin floors were nailed down with straight shanked nails, which don’t hold well, usually on a pine subfloor that isn’t flat and also moves.
What I can’t understand is why ‘many’ boards had this happen. And why they weren’t addressed before the final coat was applied. I’ve used a marker for an occasional tiny spot before a final coat. I would think if this touch up method is used throughout the floor area and without another coat of finish you will likely be able to clearly see those spots.
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