Leave the pre-stain to soak into the wood for about 10-15 minutes before wiping off any excess with a clean shop cloth. This is completely natural, but the grain and differences in density are highlighted by the stain. to force an outcome often ends in a failure. I like the color of the stain, but I don't know why it is blotchy in places. For amateurs the best advice is to avoid staining hard Maple, Birch, and Cherry. Any blotch-prevention program starts with evenly sanding to 180 grit on face grain, and to 220 grit on end grain. I would like to stain it darker, however I've been told that staining this maple floor won't work and won't turn out? Dye stains are very similar to fabric dyes (and yes you can use Rit Dye stains to dye wood) in that they both contain particles that are so small that they enter the wood surface itself. Maple is not the best wood to stain because it does tend to be blotchy. Loose or Creaking Boards & Tight or Popping Boards, recommendation to hire an experienced pro. No guarantees but it is the least intrusive thing to try first. Overall, you will get a much more consistent color. Focus on blotchy or darker areas. However, after sanding it (with a palm sander on the affected area), and applying Howard’s natural stain to the area, it took on a blotchy darker appearance (primarily on the area that was just exposed). Wipe harder on darker areas to lighten the stain to match existing lighter areas. Sep 28, 2017 - Explore ADR Flooring's board "stained maple" on Pinterest. it will likely turn out blotchy because of the density of the boards. The manufacturers of prefinished products that you’re frustrated with having Even though it was sanded, every old ding in the floor the stain saturated at. Stained/colored floors should be uniform in color. One of the woods that blotches easily is … Both times the stain looks terrible. Staining maple is generally not recommended by finish manufacturers since the dense grain does not allow the penetration of most pigments. The two options available are staining maple using a dye (water soluble or solvent soluble, or alcohol-soluble) or using a conventional resin-based wiping stain. I need the stain to spread evenly and not dry blotchy. Maple, like several others species such as walnut, American cherry, Use a natural bristle brush to apply a thin layer of pre-stain to your piece. But by the time I was finally able to have the floors refinished, I had grown to love the lightness. I lived for years in a Boston-area apartment with maple floors. How can I get maple to take stain better? This will give you a smooth floor but you’ll have to be careful. Please click here to learn more. This won't completely solve the problem, though. For stain we used Minwax the 1st time and Zar the 2nd time, and it was applied with a rag. When you ask anyone about staining a maple floor they will immediately tell you the word “blotchy” or “uneven”. Contractors are at a disadvantage when refinishing wood floors on site, because they cannot replicate the unique processes used in factory finishing in the field. Any ideas on how we can blend the wood and decrease the look of the line in the floor? However, after just a few years the maple yellows considerably, and loses the nice, bright, new appearance. Some woods, such as oak and walnut, absorb liquid stain evenly. A 600 square foot addition was added to the back of a building. 8:00AM - 5:30PM EST, Monday - Friday. procedures can result in previous coatings being left in the wood, also preventing uniform color. I will also talk about the dreaded white pigmented stain, dye stains, and ebonizing wood floors. I’ve tried several different colors and had the best results was a Gel stain. So I had to live with it plain. Share on Facebook. I normally paint everything I build, but this time I decided to try stain. Inadequate preparatory I just installed maple floors in my house and I im having a big concern as to how to go about staining the floors. I built myself a new nightstand. What Is Stain Bleed Back and How Is It Affecting Your Floors? They were originally stained dark then painted. Our maple floors have been sanded to the bare wood (light). I am restoring the entry way of our 1914 built house that has Doug Fir wainscoting and mouldings. On pine, cherry, maple, poplar, and birch, however, spongy areas soak up more liquid—and more color—than dense areas. Pine, cherry, maple, birch, and alder are the most likely to blotch. When you sand a floor down, you will highlight any imperfections in the floor. With stain, I usually finish up with 100 grit. The wax/glue came off beautifully. Feb 27, 2014 - Explore Signature Custom Flooring LLC's board "Stained Maple Floors" on Pinterest. If you have a maple, birch, or beech floor for example you will find the pigment stain tends to make the wood blotchy. Step #1: Sand the floor For both applications the best way to start is by sanding the maple floor flawlessly. It's almost like you can see areas where the sander stopped and started. A: In settings like this I would not be surprised to find the wood flooring is maple. If you try this on pine, I’d suggest a deep gray to wash out the yellows (and note: these floors will get more yellow over time as the pine ages). to match have sought out the products they needed to achieve the results their customers have demanded. Fix a blotchy stain If you use a pigmented stain that didn’t take evenly on the wood, what should you do next? Once you have the initial stain dry, apply a wash coat of shellac. Maple is a difficult wood on which to achieve uniform stain. Engineered maple wood planks – See at Wayfair. Gray does not come out very well with pine floors which have underlying yellow as well as red tones. Staining Maple Floors Yes you can have your maple floors stained a different color. Y es you can have your maple floors stained a different color. It’s blotchy, thick and dark in some areas and lighter in other areas. The appearance can look as if the stain was not applied evenly. The stain was applied by a professional. My husband took on the task of refinishing our wood floors. pine and Douglas fir, do not take stain as evenly as species such as red oak and white oak.Blotchy color can result from other factors as well, such as inconsistent sanding procedures, water-popping, or stain application. Should the floor be sealed in some way, before applying the stain? When applying a stain, be sure to use a pre-stain conditioner to try and even out the "blotchy" patches that tend to appear. Maple is a difficult wood on which to achieve uniform stain, and the appearance can … This is just another process you might call a stain conditioning. Originally when I bought the place they looked like yellow gym floors with an oil based poly used. However, when he applied the stain, it was uneven and blotchy. Many techniques have been tried to correct the issue, including pretreatments, layering stain, and excessive tinting of finish. Save Money, Save Time: 2 Innovative Ways to Use HyperTone™ Stains on Sport Floors, One Simple Secret for Avoiding the Dreaded Picture Frame, A New Way to Think About Staining Maple Floors, More Causes and Cures: Stain on the Brain. Customer Service: 1-888-GO-BETCO Equipment Tech Support: 1-877-856-5954 Most hardwood floor companies won't stain maple, the usual reasons being that it will be blotchy and uneven. Always remember to sand lightly. We are using a very dark wiping stain. The Doc. Basic Coatings® offers a unique solution that resolves a lot of the challenges to job-site maple staining in HyperTone Stains, a water/oil hybrid. This is probably said thousands of times a day across the US during a site evaluation of a wood floor. Maple, like several others species such as walnut, American cherry, pine and Douglas fir, do not take stain as evenly as species such as red oak and white oak.Blotchy color can result from other factors as well, such as inconsistent sanding procedures, water-popping, or stain application. How To Stain Wood Floors Without The Blotchy Effect. If the stain is darker than expected, it is possible you did not use a fine enough abrasive. With that addition, the dinner theater stage was moved back, exposing wood floors. Translated this means that either they don’t know how to do it, it takes extra work to do or they think that it is supposed to look like a stained oak floor and since it doesn’t it must be wrong. While small areas of individual flooring strips may accept stain without difficulty, it has been our experience that much of the maple surface will appear uneven and “blotchy” following the application of most stains or bleaching agents. You can’t change the nature of the wood itself. Continue to stain or sand again and put clear varnish? Will Basic Coatings® Stains, Sealers, and Finishes Work on Imported Woods That Contain Oil? The floors have now been sanded out twice and re-stained twice. The reason some stain accepts more in certain areas is because the wood has a more open grain there. A: This is exactly why the National Maple Flooring Association does not think staining maple is a good idea. This will also prevent the end grain from absorbing too much stain. Often this is simply a physical property of the wood species itself (such as maple, black cherry, and pine), whereby it does not evenly accept stain or colorant. While the Gel stain gave me very uniform color, it gave me very little color at all. Staining tight-grained woods like Hard Maple is a problem for finishers. I will talk about what type of stains to use on particular woods, and the best methods to apply them. Stain can turn out blotchy on maple floors as these are close pored species (this blotchiness occurs with all stain colors). Q: We just finished sanding and staining our maple floor for the second time. It is about impossible to not have a line if you are staining across numerous boards. Now I have spots all along edges by the…, We have oak floors and we're having them stained, however, the stain is very uneven in color. Hard maple floors offer a nice, light, bright look to a room, and are often paired with matching cabinetry when the home is built. The…. Before applying stain to your wood floor, you need to know what species it is. Maple and birch are tight-grained woods with very small pores, and the density of the pore wall fibers varies drastically. Im trying differnet methods conditioners as well as stains and yet, I stiil cant figure out why it comes out the way it does. Examples how to fix uneven Stain on hardwood floors skill Floor interior how to stain maple wood floors that are blotchy blotches on flooring common post 14299 0 82188400 1374555863 thumb j how to stain maple wood floors that are blotchy blotches on flooring common here is the after staining … The first step to ensuring the best possible outcome is to follow NWFA guidelines to sand and prepare the floor properly. Floors made of maple, birch, and coniferous woods (especially pine or fir) are all very difficult to stain evenly. Afterwards, you will want to make sure to clean up carefully. And now that we have this mess, should we sand again? For the 2nd sanding, the floor guys said they sanded the edges differently, which sounds like what your website advises. Contractors notoriously try to apply products outside of the manufacturer's recommendations. Contractor: No, maple doesn’t take stain well. What is the best product for staining pine and maple floors? I used Minwax Wood Conditioner followed by the Wood Stain. See more ideas about maple floors, hardwood floors, flooring. The first thing that you want to do when you are staining maple floors is to sand them. and they look quite uniform in color. I used pine and plywood to make it. Contractors tend to get comfortable with products or procedures they prefer to use, but advancements in floor product technologies do offer some possible solutions. Understand that staining--without blotches--is difficult. You should know this by now, having stained the floor twice. Staining maple floors charcoal/grey color (NYC) 21 Oct 2016 21:40 #19262. dropgems; OFFLINE; Posts: 2; Firstly, hello I'm new and these forums are great! Staining Maple Floors. Blotches on maple stain job Our maple floors have been sanded to the bare wood (light). As with other hardwoods such as cherry, maple can be a bit temperamental to finish, particularly when staining. I have a hardwood floor that looks like a gym floor. The first is to sand the floors screen and then -pop the grain- with water and allow to dry overnight before staining. So my place in NYC has 4 1/4in hard maple floors. Let the coat dry and then gently sand it using a 320 grit sandpaper. Blend the edges of uneven areas into lighter areas. When I went to the local Rockler hardware store, they said I may have a problem with “blotchy” areas in Maple so preparing the wood is recommended. Tweet on Twitter. Most hardwood floor companies won’t stain maple, the usual reasons being that it will be blotchy and uneven. 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