Take a look at these simple tips and tricks to help you deliver a quality job when staining hardwood floors.
Most of the complaints the customers have, aren’t even directed at the way the staining of hardwood floors was done or the work that was put into it. The main problem usually is that the customer is disappointed in the color once the stain has dried. After having looked at samples provided by stain manufactures, they have a certain picture in their minds of how they want the floor to look like. The color on an actual hardwood floor can be affected by numerous factors: the wood species, the abrasive sequence, the lighting in the room, the color of the paint on the walls, etc.
We always recommend wiping the sample color on the actual floor after the second sanding and then have the customer sign off on their color choice. This way the customer can see what the stain will look like on their floor, with that particular type of wood and grain. That certainly beats any sample provided by a stain manufacturer.
It is the sanding job that determines the quality of the stain job. That is why many wood flooring contractors who have done natural floors successfully for years still find that they need to improve their sanding skills in order for them to get an acceptable stain job. If the sander leaves any imperfection, it will definitely show once the floor is stained. These may include screen marks, edger marks and drum marks.
The grain also determines how much stain is absorbed into the floor. If the grain is more open, more stain will be absorbed and this will make the floor darker. This implies that if a higher grit of sandpaper is used as final sanding, the stain will be lighter. Some contactors may try to get away with sanding the field with 100 grit sandpaper but finishing the edges of the room with only 80 grit, which will result in a room with a darker stain color around the perimeter. Some contractors also use 100 grit on the field as the final cut and hand scrape all around the edges of the room, this will result in a lighter stain color around the perimeter. This is because a hand-scarper will leave a slick texture that cannot absorb much stain.
Another thing that must be remembered when staining hardwood floors is that the result of the staining depends, not only on the type of wood, but also on the application technique of the flooring contractor doing the staining. Where some of them will use rags or lambs – wool applicators, others might use a buffer with carpet remnant. Nevertheless, the most important rule is to apply the stain in the direction of the grain. Also, remember that too much or too little stain can be detrimental to the end result.
A good way to minimize sanding imperfections is by applying a technique that is called “popping the grain”. In layman’s terms it is simply applying water to the wood after its final sanding. This causes the grain of the wood to open, which in turn causes the wood to absorb a greater amount of the stain. This makes the stain look darker and more uniform, easily covering up small sanding imperfections. The most important is that the floor gets evenly saturated. Uneven saturation will cause the grain to pop differently on different parts of the floor, which will cause the staining to be uneven looking and different as you look around the room. This is obviously something you want to avoid.
Though there are many different methods and procedures to staining hardwood floors well, it’s a clear and open dialogue with your customer that will make all the difference.
TipTop Flooring provides sanding, staining and refinishing services for your hardwood needs. We are a locally owned and operated flooring company that takes pride in our work. We offer a no hassle guarantee on all services in order to ensure happy, satisfied customers that provide local word of mouth referrals you can count on.
To request your free no obligation estimate please contact us at 416-433-2323.