I will also talk about the dreaded white pigmented stain, dye stains, and ebonizing wood floors. to force an outcome often ends in a failure. Engineered maple wood planks – See at Wayfair. 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). How can I get maple to take stain better? 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). Both times the stain looks terrible. The video on staining blotchy wood was very helpful but do you have any advice for staining already blotchy wood? Loose or Creaking Boards & Tight or Popping Boards, recommendation to hire an experienced pro. Inadequate preparatory Staining Maple Floors. This is just another process you might call a stain conditioning. I have a hardwood floor that looks like a gym floor. 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. Maple, like several others species such as walnut, American cherry, You could try wiping the stain down with a cloth dampened with mineral spirits to see if you can lighten it. Most hardwood floor companies won’t stain maple, the usual reasons being that it will be blotchy and uneven. i use a Siphon-Feed paint spray gun … I followed the directions on both cans and I sanded it prior to putting on the Wood Conditioner. On pine, cherry, maple, poplar, and birch, however, spongy areas soak up more liquid—and more color—than dense areas. 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. Let the coat dry and then gently sand it using a 320 grit sandpaper. I love how the stain highlights the different grain patterns in maple giving it an entirely new look. 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. Our maple floors have been sanded to the bare wood (light). Contractor: No, maple doesn’t take stain well. See more ideas about maple floors, hardwood floors, flooring. So I had to live with it plain. 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. Maple is a difficult wood on which to achieve uniform stain, and the appearance can … They were originally stained dark then painted. See more ideas about maple wood flooring, wood floor finishes, stain. Any ideas on how we can blend the wood and decrease the look of the line in the floor? When you ask anyone about staining a maple floor they will immediately tell you the word “blotchy” or “uneven”. For amateurs the best advice is to avoid staining hard Maple, Birch, and Cherry. All hardwoods and softwoods have some kind of grain pattern and density differences due to its growth. But by the time I was finally able to have the floors refinished, I had grown to love the lightness. Do you have any suggestions in correcting this problem? I used pine and plywood to make it. 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. Pine, cherry, maple, birch, and alder are the most likely to blotch. The wax/glue came off beautifully. One of the woods that blotches easily is … The appearance can look as if the stain was not applied evenly. I will talk about what type of stains to use on particular woods, and the best methods to apply them. 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. Please click here to learn more. Once you have the initial stain dry, apply a wash coat of shellac. Overall, you will get a much more consistent color. Gray does not come out very well with pine floors which have underlying yellow as well as red tones. A 600 square foot addition was added to the back of a building. Hard maple floors offer a nice, light, bright look to a room, and are often paired with matching cabinetry when the home is built. It's almost like you can see areas where the sander stopped and started. If the surface is very blotchy, you’ll have to remove the stain by stripping, sanding, or both, and start over. The floors have now been sanded out twice and re-stained twice. However, after just a few years the maple yellows considerably, and loses the nice, bright, new appearance. And now that we have this mess, should we sand again? If the stain is darker than expected, it is possible you did not use a fine enough abrasive. 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. Maple is a difficult wood on which to achieve uniform stain. I am restoring the entry way of our 1914 built house that has Doug Fir wainscoting and mouldings. Basically, in easy to understand terms the wood accepts more stain in certain areas. I like the color of the stain, but I don't know why it is blotchy in places. Maple is not the best wood to stain because it does tend to be blotchy. Staining Maple Floors Yes you can have your maple floors stained a different color. Originally when I bought the place they looked like yellow gym floors with an oil based poly used. The first step to ensuring the best possible outcome is to follow NWFA guidelines to sand and prepare the floor properly. You can’t change the nature of the wood itself. You should know this by now, having stained the floor twice. Stain controllers can only minimize blotches, not eliminate them. A: In settings like this I would not be surprised to find the wood flooring is maple. The first is to sand the floors screen and then -pop the grain- with water and allow to dry overnight before staining. Even though it was sanded, every old ding in the floor the stain saturated at. There are dark streak marks, hand prints, spots and splotches over sections of the floor. For stain we used Minwax the 1st time and Zar the 2nd time, and it was applied with a rag. What Is Stain Bleed Back and How Is It Affecting Your Floors? Focus on blotchy or darker areas. Im trying differnet methods conditioners as well as stains and yet, I stiil cant figure out why it comes out the way it does. To minimize the blotchy effect on maple, try wiping the door down with paint thinner and then staining it. How To Stain Wood Floors Without The Blotchy Effect. This will also prevent the end grain from absorbing too much stain. I lived for years in a Boston-area apartment with maple floors. 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. Maple and birch are tight-grained woods with very small pores, and the density of the pore wall fibers varies drastically. 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. The reason some stain accepts more in certain areas is because the wood has a more open grain there. I’ve tried several different colors and had the best results was a Gel stain. it will likely turn out blotchy because of the density of the boards. When applying a stain, be sure to use a pre-stain conditioner to try and even out the "blotchy" patches that tend to appear. I need the stain to spread evenly and not dry blotchy. Unfortunately, attempts With that addition, the dinner theater stage was moved back, exposing wood floors. Understand that staining--without blotches--is difficult. Fix a blotchy stain If you use a pigmented stain that didn’t take evenly on the wood, what should you do next? It is maple. Leave the pre-stain to soak into the wood for about 10-15 minutes before wiping off any excess with a clean shop cloth. Many consider this a nice, contemporary “Scandinavian” look. 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. When you sand a floor down, you will highlight any imperfections in the floor. Well, it's not unusual to end up with a blotchy finish after staining maple -- even if you first use a stain controller. Floors made of maple, birch, and coniferous woods (especially pine or fir) are all very difficult to stain evenly. Blotchy Stain/Colorant Blotchy stain or colorant is when there is the appearance of an inconsistent color from one area of a finished floor to another. With stain, I usually finish up with 100 grit. When I moved in I was sure I wanted them darker, but it was too expensive (maple is expensive to stain because its hardness makes it harder to get the color even, or so I was told). Dyes work better but limit the colors available. For the 2nd sanding, the floor guys said they sanded the edges differently, which sounds like what your website advises. Continue to stain or sand again and put clear varnish? What is the best product for staining pine and maple floors? This won't completely solve the problem, though. I had it professionally sanded and stained to try to match the rest of the house. Afterwards, you will want to make sure to clean up carefully. The manufacturers of prefinished products that you’re frustrated with having This is probably said thousands of times a day across the US during a site evaluation of a wood floor. Most hardwood floor companies won't stain maple, the usual reasons being that it will be blotchy and uneven. Hardwood Floor Care Tips and Recommendations. 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? 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! Also, if you were sanding and stain matching along a board edge, you would have better odds of success. The Doc. Maple is not the best wood to stain because it does tend to be blotchy. Share on Facebook. Blend the edges of uneven areas into lighter areas. So my place in NYC has 4 1/4in hard maple floors. Many techniques have been tried to correct the issue, including pretreatments, layering stain, and excessive tinting of finish. Homeowners are often suspicious when they hear this, since they’re offered countless options of stained maple cabinetry and prefinished wood flooring, We are using a very dark wiping stain. Contractors notoriously try to apply products outside of the manufacturer's recommendations. Blotches on maple stain job Our maple floors have been sanded to the bare wood (light). Stain can turn out blotchy on maple floors as these are close pored species (this blotchiness occurs with all stain colors). This is completely natural, but the grain and differences in density are highlighted by the stain. Step #1: Sand the floor For both applications the best way to start is by sanding the maple floor flawlessly. 8:00AM - 5:30PM EST, Monday - Friday. I normally paint everything I build, but this time I decided to try stain. There are dark streak marks, hand prints, spots and splotches over sections of the floor. Wipe harder on darker areas to lighten the stain to match existing lighter areas. Tweet on Twitter. I just installed maple floors in my house and I im having a big concern as to how to go about staining the floors. As with other hardwoods such as cherry, maple can be a bit temperamental to finish, particularly when staining. You should do the same by looking for alternative products better suited for any given project. By. Related Q: I work for a company that just expanded their dinner theater room. 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. While the Gel stain gave me very uniform color, it gave me very little color at all. Stained/colored floors should be uniform in color. Use a natural bristle brush to apply a thin layer of pre-stain to your piece. The stain was applied by a professional. My husband took on the task of refinishing our wood floors. Some woods, such as oak and walnut, absorb liquid stain evenly. 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 … But the stain is almost worse this time. Q: We just finished sanding and staining our maple floor for the second time. The stain was applied by a professional. Should the floor be sealed in some way, before applying the stain? Water-popping will also help make sure the color is absorbed more evenly. Using pre stain conditioners will create other issues. The first thing that you want to do when you are staining maple floors is to sand them. Customer Service: 1-888-GO-BETCO Equipment Tech Support: 1-877-856-5954 Q: I have a prefinished maple natural color hardwood floor. However, when he applied the stain, it was uneven and blotchy. No guarantees but it is the least intrusive thing to try first. If you have a maple, birch, or beech floor for example you will find the pigment stain tends to make the wood blotchy. After the stage was moved there was a line of glue or possibly old wax buildup between the wood that has been exposed and the rest of the floor that has been refinished over the years. Will Basic Coatings® Stains, Sealers, and Finishes Work on Imported Woods That Contain Oil? Not impossible, just difficult. But this doesn’t make them easy to use on floors. It is about impossible to not have a line if you are staining across numerous boards. Always remember to sand lightly. It’s blotchy, thick and dark in some areas and lighter in other areas. A: This is exactly why the National Maple Flooring Association does not think staining maple is a good idea. Before applying stain to your wood floor, you need to know what species it is. Staining maple is generally not recommended by finish manufacturers since the dense grain does not allow the penetration of most pigments. Feb 27, 2014 - Explore Signature Custom Flooring LLC's board "Stained Maple Floors" on Pinterest. Discovering the secret to successfully staining maple floors. I used Minwax Wood Conditioner followed by the Wood Stain. I built myself a new nightstand. Contractors tend to get comfortable with products or procedures they prefer to use, but advancements in floor product technologies do offer some possible solutions. Since maple is a hardwood, the stain could be blotchy or not absorb well unless it’s pretreated. This will give you a smooth floor but you’ll have to be careful. and they look quite uniform in color. to match have sought out the products they needed to achieve the results their customers have demanded. procedures can result in previous coatings being left in the wood, also preventing uniform color. 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. The…. It is about impossible to not have a line if you are staining across numerous boards. Sep 28, 2017 - Explore ADR Flooring's board "stained maple" on Pinterest. Any blotch-prevention program starts with evenly sanding to 180 grit on face grain, and to 220 grit on end grain. This time, apply a washcoat of shellac and then the stain. Im well aware of the density of wood and blochiness it could create. I’m going to continue the procedure I started in the sanding article. 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