Repairing burn marks on floor

Q: I had to belt sand a burned oak floor. In spots I got the stain correct [matching golden oak], now I want to feather the urethane edge. The original floor is 4 coats of urethane I think. The divots were 1/8 deep.

A: I haven’t seen what this burned area looks like but if it was bad enough, I may have opted to replace the damaged boards. In coating, you are better off isolating entire boards involved in the repair. Sand coats of finish on entire boards, remove dust and use painters tape along edges of those boards. Apply a thin coat and remove the tape immediately. Repeat as needed. It’s not likely this will be unnoticeable when dry. It time, with some wear it will look less noticeable.

Follow-up: Thank you for your input. I am 62 and I have worked with much wood and finishing. This task is rare and I have not been able to find anyone who has done a repair like this. I will keep you informed when I get it completed. The floor got burned in spots, 2 spots deep, and the rest splattered they are lucky. The wood grain is too beautiful to remove and replace, as it was laid with care and matches. I belt sanded it down, and I have stained it to match, which I got it 90% on. The edges are what I will work on today, when finished with polyrethane, many coats, I will wet dry the final out, and bring the area up. I may end up just sanding the entire floor.

A: Ha, I’m 62 also. 63 in March. I’ve done lots of patch repairs. The older the existing floor is, the more difficult it is to get a good colour match. Plus sanding out a burn 1/8″ deep? You would have to feather sand out from there much further so it doesn’t look like a trench or trough. I would apply thin coats of finish on just the affected boards as mentioned. Even with this, the sheen of the coating is likely to not be exact. If you get the stain looking real close, perhaps you can just screen the entire floor and coat the whole thing? Do a couple of test areas to make sure there are no contaminants which would reject adhesion. I have been using Poloplaz Primero for quite a few years now. It rolls on beautifully and is as close to a no failure finish I’ve ever used. There Supreme is also very good but doesn’t dry quite as quickly.

Let me know how it turns out. Tricky work for sure.

Similar Q: I hope you can help me out. I have a hardwood floor and a ceramic heater fell over and heated up the floor to the point of slightly darkening the wood. Is there anything I can do short of replacing the darkened area?

A: You could attempt to sand to clean wood first but restrict this to the entire boards affected. If this is a factory finished floor though you are best to change the boards.

Leave a Comment