Staining Hardwood Floors
This article will outline exactly how to stain a hardwood floor. This isn’t going to be using the buffing method but rather using the method that many professionals use. By hand.
(thanks to Ben Osborne for video)
So, you have diligently sanded the floor in the fashion outlined on this website in order to produce the best possible finish for staining hardwood floors. Well even if you didn’t go that far and decided that enough is enough with the sanding.You have vacuumed the entire floor including around the edges with the hose.
You are going to need:
- Latex Gloves (or similar, dust free preferably)
- Paint brush
- Lintless Cloths
- Pot
- Wood stain!
Before you handle the stain you should have your gloves on. Putting 2 on each hand means that you can take one pair off and have spinky clean new ones without having to go get more. Empty your stain tins into your pot and mix them together with a stirring implement.
You must mix all the tins you are going to use straight away as adding a can at a later time can cause a change in the color of the stain. I know this sounds silly when you have bought 5 “Georgian Medium Oak.” Every batch produced by a stain manufacturer has variations. Its fine when you have 5 tins from the same batch production. But when you have 2 of one batch and 3 of another and you add that final tin you were hoping to not use, it will make that last bit of the job a different color.
Staining hardwood floors isn’t as simple and straight forward as you first thought, is it?
Before you start staining you should plan your escape. Meaning, you should work out through which door you want to exit and begin at the furthest point away from that door. Try to make sure your plan includes areas that don’t fit in with the linear motion of “one side to the other,” like corridors and such.
Brush the stain on against the back wall going with the grain of the floor then brush down against the two sides (on the ends of the boards). Don’t do too many board widths at a time, you don’t want to make it deeper than an arms reach. 24 to 30 inches would be idea. Then dip the cloth in the stain, fairly quickly, otherwise you will have too much. Then rub the stain laden cloth over the floor within the border you have just created. You may need to reload the cloth several times before you have filled that area with stain. Then use a dry cloth to mop up the excess stain.
Now do this again with another strip of floor. Brushing in 1 edge (along the ends of the boards), then staining an area and drying it off as you go, from one side of the room to the other. Repeat this process of staining the hardwood floor in strips until you have completed the floor. There may be complications towards the end in terms of having to work your way backwards out of the door.
While you need to do it properly and try not to make mistakes, speed is of the essence. Staining the floor too slowly can lead to patchiness as areas start to dry while you are applying.
Not got all your answers? Quiz me in the comments.
Godspeed.