Category: Staining Wood Floors

A few dark spots on newly stained and refinished floor

Q: I just had my floors refinished and a couple of days later, on the top stairs landing, I’m seeing 3 distinct darker spots. One spot is at least 6″x6″. All go across the boards. The guy that did the refinishing said that can happen with old wood. The house was built in 1942. He said he could resand just that area and do it again, but he makes no guarantees they won’t show again.

A: I’m not sure what is meant by darker nor how old this wood is. If it is a black mark it could be a water stain or urine from a pet. One never knows exactly what a very old floor has been through and what has been applied to it over the years which might leave a spot. Your floor guy sounds like he stands by his work and is honest. I would go by his recommendation.

Follow-up Q: (Picture attached.)

A: Was there a pet stain there before the floors were done?

Follow-up Q: No pet stain and the floor didn’t show any issues when in their sanded raw state, before any stain or varnish was applied.

A: Can you tell me exactly what stain brand he used? I’m curious if it was Min Wax which comes in yellow cans. I ask because these stains contain a lot more solvent and if you apply it and leave it to sit it can leave a mark. The one board running across the doorway with very black color in the grain and then a circle around it could indicate this problem.

Shading issue when staining wood



Q: I recently installed new prefinished, oiled oak floors and had to face nail certain boards. I filled the holes with wood filler to match and sanded by hand the areas with 150 grit to make them even. I have the exact two part oil (stain and sealer) from the manufacturer. Once I stained the sanded areas, they came out lighter in color than the existing un-sanded parts, leaving color varying patches. Continue reading Shading issue when staining wood




Changing stain from a dark stain to a light stain



Q imported from our old site, Face Lift Floors:  When I brought my house, it had dark stained hardwoods in the foyer and hall. I am not a fan of dark flooring so when I had hardwood put in the formal areas I went with a lighter stain.

Can the dark stain be stripped and then the floor stained to match the lighter floors? Also how common is it to put hardwood in common areas and laminate which matches it in bedrooms?

A: Providing you are talking of changing the color of the stain on your floors to another brown tone sort of color, then yes, you can change the color to a lighter shade. I mention this because if you were thinking of going from, for example, ebony to white, it could be problematic.

It is impossible, at least on very grainy woods such as oak to get all of the stain out of the heavy grain. This would not be an issue if you were changing the color from ebony to chestnut, for example.

The bigger issue, in my mind, is whether the type of hardwood floor you have is able to tolerate another sanding. If it is the traditional 3/8 thick strip flooring, then the answer quite likely would be no. If it is 3/4 thick, I have to believe you are very safe to go ahead.

I would not say it is common to have laminate mixed with solid hardwoods. I have to ask what laminated product you are using that could “match” a solid wood floor?

Original / moved link https://faceliftfloors.com/q-and-a/brown.php




Will stain darken to match over time?



Q: We have brand new oak floors. The builder had to replace a couple boards around an electrical plate. The stain he put on doesn’t match. He says they will darken to match the rest of the floor. ‘Just give it time.’ In the meanwhile he has put a finish coat on it. Continue reading Will stain darken to match over time?




Staining previously waxed floors



Q: I put 3/4 inch tongue and groove hardwood floors I had run myself in my cabin, about 15 years ago. Since then they’ve never been sanded or anything else, just waxed. Tonight I’m sanding them with an orbital sander and I’m not real concerned about getting them perfectly smooth. My question is when I stain them will the wax that is still on the boards cause me a problem? Continue reading Staining previously waxed floors




Accidentally walked on floor before staining



Q: I am having my floor refinished and the professionals are water popping the wood. I was told not to walk on the floor between the popping and stain process, but I accidentally did when I was asked by my contractor to get him something from a back bedroom. Continue reading Accidentally walked on floor before staining




Cannot remove all the dark stain



Q: I sanded down old oak hardwood floors. Applied varathane, waterbased stain. It was way too dark, so I decided to resand the floor. But I cannot remove all the previous stain. What can I do to get it all off? Continue reading Cannot remove all the dark stain




Peroxide treated spots staining differently



Q: I just finished sanding my wood floors, went great. I had some dog urine spots that I cleaned up with peroxide. They lightened nicely over a few treatments. Well I just stained it and all these spots of a different color are showing where the peroxide was. Continue reading Peroxide treated spots staining differently




Which DuraSeal stain matches Gunstock color?



Q: I have a dining room with what I believe is Bruce prefinished hardwood flooring. I have gotten two estimates on having the flooring sanded down to bare wood and completely finished. I would like to match the hardwood that is installed in my kitchen as closely as possible. The kitchen hardwood is the 2 1/4″ Gunstock stain. However, the refinishers use DuraSeal.  Is there a way to tell which DuraSeal color is actually the Gunstock color? Continue reading Which DuraSeal stain matches Gunstock color?




Applying darker stain in a sealer, over initially sealed in stain?



Q: Can you put stain on in a sealer? We’re reviewing the progress of our floors and don’t like the varied colors of the wood boards. We’d like to paint over the stain that’s already been sealed, with a darker stain. Continue reading Applying darker stain in a sealer, over initially sealed in stain?