I'm in the process of refinishing the hardwood floors in my home. I just completed one room with two coats of stain and 3 coats of polyuraphane. Either the stain was put on unevenly or the existing wood didn't accept the stain evenly. There is a shadow over several boards in one area giving the appearance of being stained with two different stains. Is there any way to even out or remove the shadow without sanding the entire floor. Is there anyway to remove the shadow by sanding only the affective area, then restaining and reapplying the polyuraphane in a feathering application. Any ideas would be appriciated.

Thank you,

Joe H.

 

Did you wait per instructions between coats of stain?? Did you wipe up excess?? Is it a general problem or could it just be certain boards, each piece of wood is different and will stain differently. I don't know of an easy way to fix that if it is a general problem, sorry.

 

Just Bill hit it... wood of different hardness/age/moisture content will absorb the stain differently - but that's part of the beauty of natural wood floors..... It's a mosaic of sorts. DIYer's are typically more critical of their own work than anyone else will ever be. Let it go for a week - I'll bet you never notice it after a short period of time.

 

....... also it is usually best to only use 1 coat of stain - the 1st coat kind of seals the wood making it hard for the 2nd coat to penetrate.

I doubt you could fix it with out a lot sanding and as noted above, it may not be all that noticable - especially after the furniture and such is put back.

btw - welcome to the forums Joe!

 

If the shade difference is confined to specific boards, then those boards could possibly be a different species of wood. Otherwise, a stain from a spillage of something, a pet stain, or a water leak may have caused this before you started the refinishing process.

 

I want to thank all of you for your coments on my problem with the uneven stain on the floor. I don't think its a water, pet or some other stain in the wood. I am aware that each board accepts a stain differently and of course thats the beauty of a hardwood floor. The stain or shadow is on several boards, but not on the complete board, its uneven, its does give the apearance that the wood-stain was not evenly applied. I wish I could cover it up with furniture or even a throw rug, but its in a highly visable place. Do any of you think that I may be able to sand out the uneven stain that crosses several boards. attempt to restain in an evenly fashion and then apply polyurathane, feathering it to blend in with the previously applied finish. Have any of you done such a crazy thing. Before I retired I worked in construction all my life, but as an electrician not a painter or floor finisher. I'm afraid that I'll screw-up and make the situation worst by trying the above idea. Help! Joe H.

 

We have determined that is was something on/in the wood, or improper application, not specific boards. IMHO, trying to feather out the problem area will lead to even more feathering which will lead to.............see where I am going. You have so much finish on the surface that feathering will only make a hole, which will never be evenly filled, no matter how good you are. Again, IMHO.

I agree with the statement above that suggested that 2 coats of stain are rarely needed on a hardwood floor. The 1st coat seals the surface, and additional coats usually don't make a lot of difference. But, too late for that now.

 

Thank you Just Bill,
Yes, I guess your right about going on and on. The more I think about it I'm starting to beleive that it has to be water marks in the wood. May be when the house was being built the stack of wood was left out in the rain for some time and damanged only several boards in the stack. I guess there isn't any thing I can do with it. Again, thanks to all of you who tried to help.
Joe H.