How To Stain New Hardwood Floors

Still other contractors apply stain by squirting the floor with stain out of a clean condiment bottle and spreading it with a white pad on the buffer.

How to stain new hardwood floors.

If you weave in new hardwood you must sand and refinish the existing room where the new unfinished wood has been woven in. The amount of stain that a floor can absorb is finite. Work one manageable area at a time such as four square feet. Your final stroke should always be in the same direction as the wood s grain.

Area with sanding screen. The floor will not get darker if you flood it with an excess of stain or apply a second coat. The goal here is staining hardwood floors without resanding right. This doesn t mean there is nothing you can do to get a bit of color back into your floor.

So when a floor is being stained it is usually sanded back to bare wood and the stain is then applied. If you re using a waterbased stain buffing usually is not recommended. Apply stain according to label directions with a brush or rag working the stain into the wood. Aside from a few tiny whiskers caused by dust particles it should be smooth.

Use a method called water popping in which you run a wet mop or cloth over the newly sanded floor to raise the grain. Use a rag or paint roller to apply a penetrating stain. Select a stain that won t raise the grain of the wood or you ll have to sand the floor after applying the finish. Apply the stain with a foam applicator pad in the direction of the wood grain.

Choose an interior wood stain based on the color you desire and the type of hardwood flooring you have. This will cause the wood to better accept the stain. For many this is not an issue as many may want to change the color and or it may be time to refinish the existing area due to normal wear and tear. Try to apply as even a coating as possible.

Using excess amounts or applying multiple coats of stain can cause the stain to bleed back where it wicks back up to the surface of the board as solvent begins to evaporate. Use a random orbital sander to sand the floor three times using a lighter grit abrasive with each pass. Then wipe away the sanding residue mask around the test area and give it a coat of polyurethane photo 1. Once the floor has dried apply the stain evenly.

Allow approximately 30 minutes drying time before staining. Remove dust with a heavy duty shop vac followed by rags dampened with. Allow to dry for one hour. After 24 hours take a look at the polyurethane.

Many manufacturers recommend removing excess stain as you go usually a few minutes after application. Typically the floor will then be sealed with some sort of lacquer or varnish to lock in the color and protect the floor.