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I’d like to try staining an oak floor in our bedroom. I’ve sanded/refinished before with good results, but never stained a floor. Any tips from you pros out there? How do you avoid overlapping marks? Thanks in advance.
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J,
Staining a floor is quite different than doing a natural or a two coat poly direct to the wood. After you final sand with 100g on the drum, and have finaled with a 100g sanding screen on the edger, you need to hand sand out all of the rotary edger scratches left at the edge or areas where the drum could not get to, with a scraper and 80g sand paper. Use a bright light to check and make sure they are all gone. Even the smallest scratch will show up like a sore thumb when you stain. Usually ten firm strokes over each piece is a good starter on the edge sanding. After you have processed that procedure, buff the floor throughly with a 100g sanding screen to blend the edge to the field, or you will get a picture frame where the edge meets the drum field. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it? Also, check your stain sample under these conditions or you might be surprised when the color isn't what you planned. GW
*Hmmm...good advice, Greg. In the past, I've used the drum and the edger up to 100 grit, then the big random orbital with 80, then 100. Is that what you mean by "buffing?" You mean I'd STILL have to hand sand? Oi.
*that's right.
*You know, Greg, maybe it would be a shame to cover up the natural beauty of oak. Thanks for the help.
*I can verify that staining an oak floor is MUCH more intensive than going the non stain route. I installed red and white oak in my home in September and went with the Minwax Red Oak stain. The bedroom ended up being stained and resanded 4 times before it was acceptable. I simply did not see scratches until the stain was applied. My sunroom was the same, but only 3 trials. The hallway took two. Now I'm ready for a one shot job. Seriously, take the flashlight and ferrett out all the scratches. And when you are done, keep looking until you find more. The orbital buffer is a good idea if you did good enough with the drum sander that all the planks are nice and even. I broke out the belt sander in the hallway with pleasing results. Don't get discouraged, the final result is well worth your time.Jon
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I'd like to try staining an oak floor in our bedroom. I've sanded/refinished before with good results, but never stained a floor. Any tips from you pros out there? How do you avoid overlapping marks? Thanks in advance.