The floor guys are half way through the finishing process for my white oak floor, and I have a question about one of the steps. My floor is hand scraped between sanding and staining, but the crew said they do this to all floors: after all installation work is done, they very carefully vacuum everything, then mop on a liberal coat of denatured alcohol. They try to do that on a Friday and let it sit until Monday, when they apply the stain and then the clear coat. They say it makes the grain “pop”. Anybody else do this?
One of the crew recently worked in Houston for a couple of years, and he said bleached floors are popular there. Doesn’t work with white oak, but he said the red oak comes out with a whitish tint.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell’em “Certainly, I can!” Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Replies
pop ...
good finisher do that ...
raises the grain hairs between coats ....
alchol or water ... I believe.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
OK, this may be a stupid question, but it won't be my first or last!
It is my understanding that if you raise the grain, you are supposed to sand it off.
Yes?
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
Alcohol won't raise the grain..only water will, thats why they call alcohol stains NGR...Non Grain Raising..for when you Dont want to sand the nubs back and lose the color uniformity.
The responses pretty much mirror what I thought: popping the grain by cleaning out the pores makes it look deeper (?). Alcohol doesn't raise the grain. They used a fine screen (about 180-200) to lightly go over the floor after it was laid, but then they used the alcohol after sanding. Overall it doesn't make sense...but then the bumblebee can't fly either. I'll post some pics in a week, when the stain and finish are dry.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Seems what we have here is confusion of terminology.
The "pop" your floor finisher is referring to regards visual grain emphasis.
The other kind of "pop" is a reference to grain-raising and subsequent sand down to rid the floor of raised grain when a watr-borne stain or dye is used just prior to application of the clear coats.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
The mention of "POP" to me is what I do to look for erant sanding scratches..wet the floor first and it mimics the finished look..if ya have big scratches, you will see em b4 finish goes on.
Now there's another one! Didn't think of that use for the word.
I do the same but never gave it a term.
Maybe I should call it.....show and tell. <G>
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.