posted this at knots as well… there have been several discussions on finishing maple but Im not totally satisfied with the answers Ive found so far.
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| First off, I know that maple dosent take stain very well, and I would also say that maple looks very good with a clear poly finish. However, what are my best options to get a dark color on my 100+ maple floors? They are in rough shape presently and in need a of few boards replaced. After re configuring our floor plan, I’ll also have to lace in new boards in several places, but Im ready to take one of the final steps in finishing the renovation. I’ll be repairing & sanding approximately 700 sq ft of maple and would like a darker finish than typically used on maple. Because of the color of our furnishings/ walls as well as the fairly large expsnsion/ contraction gaps typical of old floors, I think that if its possible, a dark color would look better. Im open to any suggestions…stain, dye, tinted poly, etc. Thanks, J |
Replies
You need to do some of Frenchy's shellac on there as it can be worked and reworked over and over with little or no sanding.
be a Frenchman
Peach full,
easy feelin'.
I originally looked into staining our maple floor as I was not too keen on the water-clear maple look in our situation. I ended up just using a varnish (Waterlox) and I really like the warm tone that gave me.
I like a varnish as it seems to become almost part of the wood as opposed to a separate plastic coating like poly. Also it can be recoated without any additional sanding etc.
I have had good luck staining smaller pieces of maple with water based analine dies and have had no problem with streaking or blotching. There might be an issue of light fastness though on a floor.
Another common option seems to be adding color to the finish as a glaze. That's probably what I would do if I wanted a darker floor.
The Waterlox website has info on staining/glazing, you might want to check that out.
Bob
Hey Bob, the figure on that floor is something else. I see tiger maple, birds eye, what else. tell us more please, how old?
Beautiful isn't it? It was billed as #2 birdseye and while it doesn't necessarily have a whole lot of birdseye there is some figure in almost every piece. I tended to group the most intense boards around the doors and where the sun can bring out the figure. Naturally I took pictures of the best spots!It was on sale and my wife is the one who saw it at a hardwood store I dragged her into. I don't even consider such things as birdseye flooring because it's way out of our league but she really really wanted it. I of course told her no but on the way home i came to my senses. The only reason we were able to afford it is that we have a small kitchen and they were trying to get rid of the last little bit of flooring they had left.The floor is about a year old now and doesn't really look the same as it did right after I finished it and took the pictures. We have two dogs and I can never seem to trim their nails regularly so there are a LOT of scratches now. Also there are some gaps etc and it gets a little bit rippled during the summer months. The beauty of it is that while the scratches can be seen in relief they don't show up looking down into the wood. I don't think that would have been the case with a hard water-based poly.
Bhosch
Did you see my floor done with shellac? ( it's at 34866.5) I know this sounds crazy but shellac is harder than most other floor finishes..
Try it yourself and see..
The wonderfull thing is that shellac is so easy to touch up should you ever manage to scratch it..
All you need to do is wipe it with a alcohol soaked rag briefly and the scratch simply disappears.
In addition shellac is very safe to use.. you've been eating shellac all of your life on pills and some candy..
No I haven't seen it yet. I tried plugging the number you gave into the advanced search but the thread that came up isn't the correct one. Can you double check your number?Shellac is something I considered for the same reason I used varnish, it's easily recoated.Well... OK, I would have to close the area off and carefully re-coat the floor, allowing a couple days for it to cure etc, but... I wouldn't have to sand it and the new coat would bond to the old coat, etc.Now, I should point out that it's the wood that is scratched/dented. The finish itself shows no real damage. My last floor was a sealer plus one coat catalyzed water-based finish which was real hard but... not only did the wood dent because, let's face it, a thin layer of plastic is not going to be stronger than the wood underlaying it, but the finish itself showed damage. In extreme areas water was able to penetrate the finish and discolor the wood.But back to the original thread, shellac can also be tinted and used to color the floor.
BHosch
Oops I gave you Fine Wood Workings numbers by mistake.
If you go to 86920.13 you'll see my floors and the first picture has the dent my 150 pound New Foundland made in the wood with his claws. The shellac is fine.
The reasons I'm such a strong advocate of shellac are
the quality of the finish.. it doesn't ever look plasticy
The ease Shellac is applied
the ease of repair
shellac's durability
shellac's safety,
shellac's a renewable resource
Beautiful floor, looks like furniture!
bob
That's a beautiful floor you have there, BHosch.
It's been a while since this thread has been active, but I'm also refinishing a 100 year maple floor in my kitchen. The original has a dark stain with numerous divots caused by my ham hands stripping off tile adhesive of unknown origins with a wallpaper scraper. I've had to patch in some new maple where a wall and some adjacent oak was removed. I'll be sanding it down to bare wood with one of those fancy multi-disk orbital sanders like they show in a recent FH issue. Then refinishing with a light tone stain - just a little more color than natural maple.
The new vs. old maple will be easy to spot because the old stuff has lots of gaps, whereas the new stuff is nailed tight. I also have heard maple is difficult to stain. I figure the old will also be a different color, so any tips on getting a uniform color on the old and new?
I appreciate the simplicity of Frenchy's shellac approach, but figure water spills, food & wine, snowy boots, etc. will keep me repairing it with some frequency. It seems to me I have heard of top-coating shellac with poly? Is that belt & suspenders, or is there merit to that approach?
I had a guy do a floor for me with Synteco once. It's one of the Swedish concoctions made of alcohol, ether, & god knows what. Completely awesome matte finish, lots of depth, very scratch-resistant, but that house still has its own personal hole in the ozone layer. I didn't mention that when I sold the place....
So, any new thoughts on this old thread would be helpful.
Hi Bluethumb!Well the beauty of my floor probably has more to do with the wood itself rather than with anything I added. I used a varnish on mine because I wanted an amber finish rather than a water clear finish. Tastes differ. I also had looked into staining and what little experience I had personally had me leaning to either an analine dye or a tinted top coat. In any case I decided a darker varnish could get me what I wanted which I guess is sort of a tinted topcoat. I am really not an expert on floor finishing and can only repeat what I have heard from others. I would suggest starting a new thread and ask your question of the professionals.My personal experience is in finishing two floors. On the first I used a catalyzed water based finish which was very hard but it was on a fir floor (I do know about the numerous divots from scraping off tile adhesive) so the floor itself scratched and dinged quite easily. This led me to believe that hardness wasn't as important as having a finish that is really part of the floor. On the maple I used Waterlox brand varnish which I have been pretty happy with (though there is a spot under the sink where something dripped on it and ate away the finish so I have decided it is not quite what it is cracked up to be). We have two dogs so the floor is totally scratched up but the depth of the wood makes it not so bad.I have never had any experience with the "Swedish" finishes but it is legendary as being the best. For some reason I want to do everything myself though and that is definitely something to leave to the professionals.Sorry I couldn't be more help and good luck!
Our entire floor is covered in scratches but still looks ok. It's is just something I have to live with because of our dogs.
bob
I have a black lab and 5 kids abusing the maple floors in my kitchen. The floor is scratched up quite a bit, but the scratches are not easily seen because of the light color of the maple. I would not put shellac on a Kitchen floor - too many water spills.
Mike K
Water spills?
How long does water have to sit on shellac before it causes a problem?
The answer is hours! Many Many hours!
How do you "fix" the problem of water marks on shellac?
Answer, simply remove the shellac which has turned white by wipeing it with denatured alcohol down to bare wood and reapply the shellac.. No sanding, easy work that makes an invisable repair (new shellac melts to gether with old shelllac to make an invisable seam.
Having said that however, My kitchen is tile because she-who-must-be-obeyed wants it that way..
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/TransTint.htm
Scroll down the page and you'll see maple samples dyed with Trans-Tint. Any of those dark enough ? <G>
Edited 2/29/2008 10:09 pm ET by HootOwl
Watco stain! Simply be careful to not allow any puddling. Maple puddles easy because of its smooth grain and hard surface. Allow it on amply and then mop it all off. You can walk on it. Do whatever you can in 10 minute soak times. Always wiping it off each 10 minutes so that what you leave all soaks in. With a lambs wool applicator you can do that 700' in about an hour. Have plenty rags and burn them outside or in a wood stove when you're done. Spontaneous combustion is a real hazard.
Next day if drying condition are good, slide on a coat of urethane.
The following day screenback with a rented 15" buffer and vacuum carefully and apply the 3rd and final coat.
Trust me, you'll see that they are beatiful and you will never have to refinish them. Neither alcohol nor water will faze them. Don't believe those that say you can't refinish polyurethane. It's just that you so seldom have to. If ever you had to it can be done a lot easier than shellac and it will look like brand new.
joe
I don't now if this will apply, but this morning i had to stain some maple baseboard to match stuff fromt the 1960's.
Even with a sealer it blotched real bad.
I sprayed the maple with a real light coat of amber shellac. Let dry for 10 minutes then I dry brushed stain on to match.
I will put a finish coat of laquer or poly on it after it dries.
It matches perfectly with no blotching.
Rich