Q: We had some water damage to our 15 year old blond ash wood flooring and I’m getting estimates to have them repaired. I have some extra wood. Of course over the years the original floors have yellowed. How realistic is it to expect a match?
A: If this is factory finished flooring you will get a closer match than if it is site sanded and finished. This is due to the type of finish that is used. I wouldn’t expect a perfect match but how close will depend on what is said above.
Follow-up Q: Thank you for your response. It is not a factory finished floor. The wood we have for the repair will need to be sanded and finished on-site. Any thoughts? Are there specialists in matching the colors I should seek out?
A: Okay, so you said it was blonde and I understand that to mean it has a natural, not stained finish. The guys should be able to tell by looking at the existing floor if it was finished with a water based finish or oil based. The oil based will go a bit darker, or a lot darker if a cheaper finish was used. Best just to finish it as it was and let nature take it’s course. Trying to stain it to match what you have now, in most cases, would leave it looking like a match was attempted and failed.
Follow-up: The finish is oil based. Thank you for the great info.
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