Disappointment doesn’t even begin to explain how I feel. I spent over five hours on Saturday cautiously sanding down my white oak hw floor to a nice smooth finish (36, 60, 80, then 120 grit.) It was a big, dusty mess but the floors look great…until I went to stain them last night.
I used a wool applicator like the directions stated. For some reason, the stain set so fast and didn’t seem to absorb into the wood. it was oil based Minwax Sedona Red. It now looks like someone slaughtered a cow in the room…the floors are an intense, bright, blood red with all the grain hidden. At certain lighting angles, the floor even looks black.
So what went wrong? Why didn’t the wood seem to absorb any of the stain?
I’ve got some professionals coming in 2 weeks to resand and put a natural finish on the floor. I’ve decided to leave this excercise for the pros. I told my wife that I wanted to give it a shot…just wish it didn’t turn out so badly. I have a new oak handrail for my stairs that I stained the same color and it looks great. That’s why we decided to match the floors to it.
UGH!!!!
Replies
Sorry for that sad story. Staining and finishing is always my biggest fear with pieces I have made especially since I am not as experienced as many.
but I do follow one most important rule
ALWAYS TRY STAIN ON A SCRAP PIECE OF THE SAME WOOD , this could have given you a hint at least of what mayoccur.
Yep...did that. I sanded down a 2 foot section to the same grit and brush it on. Looked great.I think the difference was that the sander was different (hand held ROS vs floor sander) and applicator (brush vs wool pad.) Still doesn't really explain the difference though...I'm grasping at straws at this point.
I'm guessing you over sanded (too fine) and sealed out the stain, or there was some residual finish left in the wood pores and it repelled the stain. White oak sometimes doesnt like oil stains. I always use a dye first to achieve the primary color (although on furniture, not floors).
You can fix this yourself. Get a 3 gallons of mineral spirits, a box of rags, and some knee pads. Saturate a rag with some spirits, and start rubbing and evening the stain over a 3'X3' area. Wipe it off with a clean rag until it gets the color you want. You could even try brushing the spirits on, and using a mop to clean.
I use Minwax oil stains all the time, and use this method on large pieces of furniture.
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