I posted this on FWW as well but thought I might get some good advice here too.
I am trying to refinish some red oak floors that are 50+ yrs old. They spent a long time under carpet and have some trouble spots, like dark splotches, areas without any finish, cupped boards, etc… I have learned that they are shellac and I don’t think they have any layers of wax on them. I am wondering if they have some sort of stain because in some spots that I had to repair and sand down to new wood, when I brushed on 2 coats of Zinzer Amber shellac it doesn’t quite match. Could that just be the age of the wood and not a stain?
Some more questions and info. The front two rooms had been previously refinished with Polyurethane and the color matches great where the two finishes meet. Would I be better off just using a drum sander (I think I would have to sand too long with a random orbital because of the cupped boards) and matching the front rooms? The Dark spots in the finish are kind of like scabs, I can use a putty knife to scrape some of it off but they go completely through the finish to the bare wood and I can only get them out by dabbing Denatured Alcohol on the spot, letting it soak in, and then wiping it vigorously. This of course leaves a ring of unfinished wood that I have tried to brush over to make it disappear, but cannot seem to make it blend in.
Also, I have been trying to find amber shellac in gallons but no one seems to carry it. Would I be better off mixing my own shellac (sources anyone?)? What did they do back in the 50’s? What kind of advice do you have for application?
I know it’s a lot but I feel overwhelmed right now…
Thanks,
Marc
Replies
ask frenchy
Frenchy--the original poster has a question for you!
In meantime, I'll say that you can get various colors of shellac from Rockler's (I think most of the colored shellac is flakes you have to mix up yourself, but that's not hard).
The difference in color now is probably that the shellac was amber and has darkened with age. You could try something like garnet-lak, seed-lak or button-lak to match the color. I also think that if you strip the bad spots using alcohol and scrub pads or steel wool, you could fill those and blend into the remaining finish by adding new shellac in the proper tint.