Clean Wood Floor Before Staining

Tack cloth is a cheesecloth like piece of fabric that s coated in a layer of sticky adhesive.

Clean wood floor before staining.

When a wood floor loses its luster the usual solution is to sand it down to raw wood and completely refinish it. All wood floors are protected by a clear coating that eventually becomes scratched scuffed and dull. If the finish stain has penetrated through to the wood the floor probably has a soft oiled finish common in older homes whose floors have not been refinished and resealed. The technique of wetting the wood down before staining is called popping the grain.

You need to remove the finish to bleach these black stains out of the wood and the best way to do that is to sand the affected area by hand with 120 grit. When you water pop wood you won t have to do multiple coats of stain either. This is a vivid illustration of how important it is that the texture of your wood floor be absolutely uniform and consistent before you apply your stain. The most troublesome hardwood floor stains are those that affect the wood itself.

They are usually the result of standing water and are most likely to occur when the finish has worn thin. This floor was sanded correctly but was aggressively mopped with water against the grain probably in an attempt to remove all the dust. The wood grain is so open that in one coat you should be able to get the look you want. Because different floor finishes have unique care requirements the best way to clean hardwood floors will depend on the type of finish rather than the wood species e g cherry maple oak.

You can use a garden hose with a pressure nozzle attached but we recommend pressure washing with a power washer. Whether you ve just installed a wood floor or added some fresh trim to your windows or doorways or even built a craft or furniture piece from scratch you may find yourself in a situation where the unfinished wood needs cleaning but you want to use something that won t affect the wood stain you plan to use in the near future. Lastly before you stain it s a good idea to use tack cloths to clean every last bit of dust off the prepped wood surface. Unless all traces of sawdust and sanding dust are first removed any finish you apply whether it is a coat of paint or stain plus topcoat is doomed to be imperfect although the finest dusts are virtually invisible to the eye if they are left on wood surfaces when you apply paint stain or varnish the surface will turn out muddy in color and rough to the touch.

If the stain is on the surface your floor probably has a hard finish such as urethane. What it does is open the pores of the wood to allow it to take the stain evenly and deeply. But often that s the wrong solution.