Clean Wood Floors Before Staining

The most troublesome hardwood floor stains are those that affect the wood itself.

Clean wood floors before staining.

What it does is open the pores of the wood to allow it to take the stain evenly and deeply. 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. When a wood floor loses its luster the usual solution is to sand it down to raw wood and completely refinish it. When you water pop wood you won t have to do multiple coats of stain either.

But often that s the wrong solution. If the stain is on the surface your floor probably has a hard finish such as urethane. It includes everything you need to create a fresh semi glossy polyurethane finish without changing your floor s color. The technique of wetting the wood down before staining is called popping the grain.

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. Tack cloth is a cheesecloth like piece of fabric that s coated in a layer of sticky adhesive. If deep cleaning didn t restore your wood floor s glow you could give it a fresh new finish without sanding or staining using one of the following products. They are usually the result of standing water and are most likely to occur when the finish has worn thin.

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. Refinishing hardwood floors is the right solution. 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 wood grain is so open that in one coat you should be able to get the look you want.

This floor was sanded correctly but was aggressively mopped with water against the grain probably in an attempt to remove all the dust. 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. All wood floors are protected by a clear coating that eventually becomes scratched scuffed and dull. 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.