Refinishing white oak floors

[hdgis1]

Hi. My wife and I recently purchased a house with white oak floors throughout. In order to save some money, we have decided to refinish the floors ourselves. Are their any tricks of the trade that might make the job go faster/easier? We would like to stain the floors to resemble cherry (house is trimmed with cherry) but im not sure what kind or color of stain to use. Any suggestions? How about durable top coat? If more information is needed, let me know. Thank you for your help.

Chris

[HenryinMI]

There has been a lot posted here on refinishing floors and you might want to search the site for basic info. Most flooring will be red oak and not white oak. There isn’t a lot of difference between them but white oak will be a little tougher than red and outside, it will stand up better to weather. As far as finishing white oak, because it is basically lighter than red oak, you will want the stain to set up a little longer. White oak can be difficult to get to a really good deep, dark color.

If you were going for a look and color that was as white as possible, you might consider using water based polyurethane for a finish. For most wear situations, and floors do take a lot of wear, oil based poly is better and lasts longer. One major difference is that oil based poly has an amber color and that affects the finished look.

You might get a piece of white oak and just do some sampling with finishes. If you are really sold on a cherry look, you might look for an experienced finisher who was used to working with analine dye as these dyes do offer a lot more color range and blending capability to achieve the exact color and depth you want against more generally available stains. You still can do a great job with commercial stain but you should do a little testing before you make a total commitment. (And don’t forget to stir the can or cans of stain well.)

Henry in MI

[Unregistered-Homewrecker]

I just refinished two floors in my house. I had never done this before so let me tell you the biggest lessons I learned.

1. If you are an amatuer use a rented pad sander not a drum sander. The pad sander takes longer but is MUCH more forgiving of mistakes.

2. Change the sandpaper often. It makes a world of difference. Follow the defined steps of heavy grit to small grit.

3. If you use oil based poly, I found that by thinning it, the poly was much less likely to have “bubbles” left in the finish. You will have to apply multiple (I did 5) coats but the end result was worth it.

4. Sand between poly coats. I lightly scuffed with 220 grit paper between coats of poly and then wiped up the floor with mineral spirits.

5. Don’t get in a hurry. Let it dry between coats.

6. Try to keep the furnace/ac from running when the poly is wet to keep down the dust.

Good luck….

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