Woodworkers — I have just laid floors in two adjacent rooms. Living Room with wide board red oak. Kitchen with white oak. I would like to finish both floors the same way, if possible. I don’t want the poly look, so am considering an oil finish. I don’t want to accentuate the red oak open grain and would like to bring the red oak color closer to the brown of the white oak or mute the grain somehow. I am afraid that a pigment stain would bring out the grain even more. Is there a relatively non-toxic means of getting the floors a more unified color without bringing out the red oak grain before oiling? Dye? Lye? Ammonia fuming? Should I seal the wood after the color? Only the red oak? Can an oil finish stand up in a kitchen?
Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Replies
Floors
Bleaching - chemicals - not the easy way to go.
You might consider a light staining of the red oak with a raw umber color. Apply finish to see the final color of the red oak - than it should be easier to color the white oak to match the stained red oak floor -
SA
raw umber
Would that be a powder, a stain or a dye. Any brand you recommend?
Thanks for the post,
ijk
Stain
I would go with an oil stain and dilute it somewhat - keep the color light. I would go into a store that sells floor stains - they carry the Bona products - I have used their products and have been very satisfied. Did my own floors about a year ago and the finish is holding up well.
SA
I have Waterlox on my white oak floors. Four coats, with the final one being satin sheen. It looks great, holds up well, and repels water. This isn't a poly varnish but it is a varnish.
I used Syntko original on my last house. This is a penetrating oil product. It also looked great... more the in the wood look that you seek. But the finish wasn't as protective.
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