[Hometown]

I just installed red and white oak in my entire house and stained it dark walnut. It looks pretty good but there are a few areas that need some touch up and I could use some advise on how to do it. There is one area in the middle of the hallway that came out to dark and there is an obvious transition in the middle of the room. How can I blend these to areas so the transition is not so obvious? In the room with the herringbone pattern, I wiped it all one direction so it obviously was not going with the grain and it is noticeable. How do I get these light streaks out? Thanks for all you professional input/help.

 

[pinwheel]

Have you put finish on the floor yet?

 

[Hometown]

No finish. Just stain.

 

[pinwheel]

What brand stain?

Some stains you can reactivate by putting more stain on it & rewiping.

 

[Hometown]

Minwax

 

[pinwheel]

Minwax

It'll reactivate.

 

[Cole82]

make sure your wipe off rag is clean keep rotating it. Also lots of wiping. Going the grain direction isn't as important many people apply stain with floor buffers. Getting the stain on even and not letting the stain puddle is more important.

Cole

 

[jamestrd]

I just installed red and white oak in my entire house and stained it dark walnut. It looks pretty good but there are a few areas that need some touch up and I could use some advise on how to do it. There is one area in the middle of the hallway that came out to dark and there is an obvious transition in the middle of the room. How can I blend these to areas so the transition is not so obvious? In the room with the herringbone pattern, I wiped it all one direction so it obviously was not going with the grain and it is noticeable. How do I get these light streaks out? Thanks for all you professional input/help.

this is a self implosive thread if I ever saw one

Pin..take a chill

 

[66 Shelby]

Some things aren't worth trying to figure out on your own. Phucking up a floor finishing can (will) become expensive and time consuming. Hire a professional to fix it. JM2C.

 

[mikeswoods]

Some things aren't worth trying to figure out on your own. Phucking up a floor finishing can (will) become expensive and time consuming. Hire a professional to fix it. JM2C.

Or become a pro---

As Pinwheel mentioned---
Apply more stain and rewipe the streaked area---this will even out the color and remove dried excess stain.

 

[66 Shelby]

Or become a pro---

Good point, but learning alongside a pro greatly reduces your learning curve.

As Pinwheel mentioned---
Apply more stain and rewipe the streaked area---this will even out the color and remove dried excess stain.

Yes, it will. That's about the only good thing I can say about Minwax.

 

[pinwheel]

Good point, but learning alongside a pro greatly reduces your learning curve.

Not everyone has that option. I know I didn't. What I know about sanding floors, I've spent 19 years learning & I promise you, I screwed up more than one floor while I taught myself. I've had to rework more than one. Those lessons are the ones that stick with me & were the most valuable in the long haul.

When I started sanding floors, I couldn't set down in front of a puter & look up a youtube video, or get on an internet forum for answers.

 

[Metro M & L]

Not everyone has that option. I know I didn't. What I know about sanding floors, I've spent 19 years learning & I promise you, I screwed up more than one floor while I taught myself. I've had to rework more than one. Those lessons are the ones that stick with me & were the most valuable in the long haul.

When I started sanding floors, I couldn't set down in front of a puter & look up a youtube video, or get on an internet forum for answers.

Sometimes you dont have the option to learn from a ten year apprenticeship. Like say, if you have a family to feed.

 

[66 Shelby]

I guess I was lucky to be trained by some good guys. The guy that taught me HW installs was really good with HW, but didn't know dick about other aspects of carpentry. We taught each other. For example - A big problem we used to have in new/tract homes was the HVAC guys kept running their under-cabinet boots out 24" and sealing it to the floor. I taught him to pull it up to run under it so we didn't have to keep coming back to do a sucky repair. He taught me how to rack for speed and efficiency (and still look good).

They guy that taught me to finish was, well...Just plain awesome! Best looking floors I've ever seen. His 2nd coat looks better than most 3rd's. He's my preferred sanding sub (I personally don't do re-sands anymore, only repairs).

I've seen a lot of work where guys were learning as they go, and most of it sucked. That's fine for Section 8 stuff, but I'm doing higher-end stuff now so that wont fly. I'm sure after 19 years it's all figured out and looks great, but I prefer to learn from a pro. Not knocking you Pin, just my opinion.

 

[pinwheel]

I guess I was lucky to be trained by some good guys. The guy that taught me HW installs was really good with HW, but didn't know dick about other aspects of carpentry. We taught each other. For example - A big problem we used to have in new/tract homes was the HVAC guys kept running their under-cabinet boots out 24" and sealing it to the floor. I taught him to pull it up to run under it so we didn't have to keep coming back to do a sucky repair. He taught me how to rack for speed and efficiency (and still look good).

They guy that taught me to finish was, well...Just plain awesome! Best looking floors I've ever seen. His 2nd coat looks better than most 3rd's. He's my preferred sanding sub (I personally don't do re-sands anymore, only repairs).

I've seen a lot of work where guys were learning as they go, and most of it sucked. That's fine for Section 8 stuff, but I'm doing higher-end stuff now so that wont fly. I'm sure after 19 years it's all figured out and looks great, but I prefer to learn from a pro. Not knocking you Pin, just my opinion.

I woulda prefered to learn from a pro myself, but in 19 years of doing this, I've never met another hardwood floor sander in a 90 mile radius of me. I got into this business by accident. Started doing it nights & weekends after working my day job, till one day, it didn't make sense financially to keep working my day job for peanuts.

I'd like to say I've got it all figured out, but to be honest, I'm still always looking for ways to improve efficiency & quality. I must have it somewhat figured out though, because we do mostly high end work & don't have to advertise to get any of it.

BTW, my second coat could nearly always be sold as finished product, but we still put down the 3rd

 

[mikeswoods]

Some years back ,someone here ran me down for being 'self taught'--

I had to laugh, where in the heck would a person go to learn all of the thousands of details needed to do remodeling?

Logic,determination and common sense---that can't be taught---and is needed to be a success---

 

[Hometown]

Thanks for all the great information and encouragement. The floors are looking great. The one area that still needs some work is the herringbone room. On the final sanding, I sanded it with 100 grit on an orbital sander but now that it is stained I can see the sanding marks in the direction that I sanded it. I did the same procedure with the rest of the floors but since I was able to sand it in the direction of the grain you can not see any sanding marks. How do I deal with this on a herringbone pattern?

 

[pinwheel]

Thanks for all the great information and encouragement. The floors are looking great. The one area that still needs some work is the herringbone room. On the final sanding, I sanded it with 100 grit on an orbital sander but now that it is stained I can see the sanding marks in the direction that I sanded it. I did the same procedure with the rest of the floors but since I was able to sand it in the direction of the grain you can not see any sanding marks. How do I deal with this on a herringbone pattern?

I just sanded a parquet floor yesterday. I've got a 4 head usand. It's Random orbit. A square buff sander would do the trick, but it's gonna be slow & tedious.

 

[66 Shelby]

Something to keep in mind with herringbone - When you look at it from different angles, the light will play tricks on you and the rows look lighter and darker. It can look like a crappy sand/stain job, but it's just the grains going in different directions.

 

[66 Shelby]

BTW, my second coat could nearly always be sold as finished product, but we still put down the 3rd

:thumbsup: THAT'S the mark of a good finisher! :thumbsup: