Correcting spots where stain and poly have completely worn off

Q: Six years ago in an entire home remodel we matched our existing 1949 Red Oak flooring and had it installed throughout house seamlessly. We stained the oak with Dura seal to even out dark staining from the decades of use and spills. There were 4 coats of poly used to seal. Now we have a few spots where the stain was never “correct”. The poly and stain are completely worn thru and back to natural.

These areas are about 1′ x 1′. Is there any way to repair these few areas without stripping, re-staining, and finishing the entire 2400 square feet of flooring. The rest of floor still looks brand new.

A: It is very odd the 4 coats of finish AND stain would wear away to the wood in 6 years.  Why these few spots?  And why did you not see the wear happening and try to remedy it before it got to this point?  Tape off the entire affected boards.  Sand or scrape them clean and smooth to bare wood.  Stain and apply finish coats.  Remove the tape immediately after each coat is applied.  Even with this it likely won’t be a perfect match.  The sun causes everything to change colour in time.

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