Should You Use Pre Stain On Oak Hardwood Floors
Try to apply as even a coating as possible.
Should you use pre stain on oak hardwood floors. For a deeper color and sheen wait one hour and apply a second coat. As you can see from the photo above right the more porous springwood stains considerably darker than the dense latewood giving the boards a distinct zebra striped look. You finally decided on the perfect hardwood for your floors whether that s a deep rich walnut a warm cherry wood or a rustic oak. Allow to dry for one hour.
That s how you know it s ready for finishing. Use a rag or paint roller to apply a penetrating stain. Wait overnight before subjecting the wood to normal use. Optional to help ensure uniform acceptance of the stain and finish use minwax water based pre stain wood conditioner.
As with the stain you will soon apply always work in the same direction as the wood grain when applying the wood conditioner. If you re a commitment phobic shopper choosing interior flooring can feel like a never ending process. Adventures in staining my red oak hardwood floors products process on january 30. Red oak and white oak floors absorb stain more uniformly but be aware that there is a difference between the density of earlywood or springwood and latewood of these species.
If you use a water based stain then you can use a water based pre stain and then polyurethane should be fine. Well i mean test every dark stain if you want dark floors and every light stain if you want light floors. If you do find you need a darker color wait until everything has dried and then go back with another coat. While trends like linoleum and shag carpet eek went out of style as quickly as they came into it hardwood flooring has for centuries been a failsafe choice for any and every aesthetic.
Dried stain on wood should leave very minimal color rub off on a rag or socks if at all. So before i get into the oak stain colors and results i thought it would be helpful to provide a few tips on choosing a hardwood floor stain. After 1 hour the surface is dry to the touch. Select a stain that won t raise the grain of the wood or you ll have to sand the floor after applying the finish.
Make sure when you are applying stain that you have plenty of lint free rags like old cotton shirts. Follow the grain of the wood. If you stain a piece of wood and then go over it again too soon with more stain it can actually remove the stain that you previously applied leaving a blotchy finish with light spots. If you stain a piece of wood and then wait a long time i e.
While there are many species of hardwood fit for flooring. Allow the conditioner to penetrate the wood for 5 to 15 minutes and then wipe off any excess. Use a brush or cloth to apply a liberal coat of the pre stain conditioner to all surfaces of your woodworking project.