Refinishing hardwood floors

[morefishplease]

I've started to pull out carpet and sand the hardwood floors in the house. I'm starting with the stairs which some people say is the hardest section to do. My question is after pulling up the carpet, the stairs had a black rubber mat that was laid on the hardwood. The black mat pulled up very easily but after sanding the stain and finish off it appears the black matting has stainded itself into the grain of the wood. Now the floors have never been refinished and the house was built in the 1900's but they are in very good shape. Does anyone know if there is a product out there that will help bring out this stain or is it going to require more sanding?

[Steve Foss]

What type of hardwood? Closed-grain hardwoods like maple don't stain as deeply as open-grained types like oak and ash. If the flooring has never been sanded, and it's maple, odds are pretty good you can sand it out. If it's oak, it's more of a gamble.

Wood bleach is one option, but that's pretty tricky to apply well, depending on how widespread the stains are. If you bleach the whole step tread, it'll all bleach. If you apply to the stains, the bleach can bleed onto the unstained wood, and that makes it look goofy.

If it's oak, one positive is that you can use a dark stain like Special Walnut (just one Minwax option) after sanding and whatever stains remain will not be as evident. The lighter you want the finished floor, the more prominent any stains will be.

[norm25]

Put some finish on some and see how it looks it may look just fine and added patina you could say. I refinished a room that had close to 50000 staples in the padding and the previous owners had dyed the carpeting needless to say there were rust spots all over. Once sanded and finished they ended up looking very nice. If the darkening is only in the grain it may look just fine.

[morefishplease]

Thanks for the replies guys, I really appreciate it. Yes the floors are maple and for being over 100 years old they are really in good shape which is a plus. The only bad spot is the stairs. Norm25 I know what you mean about the staples, same here it was crazy! Steve I'm going to do some more sanding on them, I believe your approach should work, some of it has come out of the grain. Good thing is the house has been in the family since being built so we know the floors have never been refinished and I have some room to sand down and hopefully pull the black out of the grain. Once again thanks guys

[SkunkedAgain]

Keep in mind that you lose nothing by sanding it a bit and then staining it to see how it looks. If you decide to sand a little more, then you haven't lost anything except for a little stain.

A few other thoughts:

-Sometimes what you want as a homeowner is beyond what most people would expect. My point is that you might see that stain every time you go up the stairs, but most others may not notice and/or think that it's just a minor imperfection in the wood. Just make sure that you aren't obsessing.

-Take pictures of the stain as it is now, and take more pictures after you sand the next time. It will help you keep in perspective how effective the sanding is on removing the stain. Compare photos periodically to check progress.

[mn_bowhunter]

To add to everyone else, what type of sander are you using? I'm assuming a rental drum sander. You'll need to make multiple passes over the floor to get down into "good" wood. If you are lucky enough to have found a source for a real sander that runs on 220v you will make fewer passes. On old maple floors I usually got good results starting with a 50g or 36g depending on finish and surface damage. Work up through the grits to 80 for natural or 100 for stained. This is a bare minimum in my opinion and more time is needed on finer grits. To see how the floor will look with a natural finish I'd rub it with a damp rag. Old maple is truly beautiful when finished natural with an oil based sealer in my opinion. Maple is too blotchy when stained. Best thing you can do is take your time and do not rush the final sanding.

[morefishplease]

Thanks for all the input guys! Right now I'm working on the open staircase floors, next will be to rent a sander and do the main level floors. I really appreciate all the advise, this is kind of a fun DIY project IMO.

[morefishplease]

My project is coming along great. The black streaks that were in the grain came out pretty good using 40 grit and some elbow grease. I do have one question for you guys since I'm kind of new to this. After I stain the stairs do I want to use a polyurethane? I don't want to make them slippery and have someone break their neck haha. Also should I use a water based or oil based product? Thanks

[croixflats]

Use a water base polyurethane. More user friendly and dries faster. It also has a non yellowing factor where oil base has over time. A bit of a learning curve as waterborne products dont self level as well as oil base so do test stip to get acquainted to how it acts.

Varathane is a good product or Deft's waterborne clear wood finish.

[mn_bowhunter]

Some water based finishes do yellow, but not at the rate of oil based products. I'd recommend bona traffic or basic coatings streetshoe. Both of those will have to be purchased from a wood flooring contractor and expect upwards of $100 per gallon. I think you can get it online as well. Leveling and durability of traffic is unmatched. Again make sure you take your time, especially with finish sanding. Take a trouble light and go over the entire floor. Maple is known for having problem areas show up after sealer. If this happens you can use a scraper and hand sand to fix, but its a pain.

[giddyup99]

I would not use Basic's Streetshoe on a set of steps. It is very slippery. They do make a product called Hydroline that would be better for steps. Or just go with the Bona Traffic product, Its very durable and is not nearly as slippery - just doesn't look as nice as Streetshoe. Good luck with your project. Post some pics!

[morefishplease]

Thanks again for all the info! Yes I will try and get some pics of the project, just wish I would have taken some before I started.

[morefishplease]

Here are some before and after pics of my project. Before pics of during sanding and some pics of the first coat of stain right after being applied.

[mn_bowhunter]

Dude, thought you had maple? Those steps are douglas fir and the landing looks the same. Still a beautiful floor and stains up better, but not as hard so denting is an issue (if that bothers you).

[morefishplease]

I thought they were maple?? I am not good at identifying these things, I just know its wood hahaha

[giddyup99]

Looks pretty good! Nice job.

The treads are fir, but the landing sure looks like maple to me.

[morefishplease]

Thanks guys! I know its not perfect and for being 100 yrs old I like the worn look to it. As for what type of wood it is I honestly couldn't tell you. I was always told the interior wood work was maple so I figured the floors were too. The upstairs has the skinny boards, and the main floor has wider boards like in the landing pic.

[swamptiger]

Yup, the treads are fir. The landing actually looks like it could be some mixed woods - maybe some birch mixed in with maple? Looks like a nice color stain anyway...

[karluurb]

That appears to cool! Your wooden work on stairs is amazing.

[pureinsanity]

yup I think I have to agree Douglas Fir. Be careful the fir is a pretty soft wood. Dents easy.

[Steve Foss]

I think both the stairs and landing are Doug fir. Maple takes stain very unevenly, which can be pretty ugly and is why most people who refinish old maple floors these days just put a few coats of poly on them and leave them white. The beautiful amber/orange luster of old maple floors is because varnish mellows and warms with age. Those floors were not stained, generally.

Doug fir is among the most difficult of floors to refinish if the traditional heavy drum sanders are used because it is so soft. For that reason, I've actually done several Doug fir floors with a handheld random orbit sander and progressively finer grit pads.

If a person thinks of a wooden floor refinishing job in the same way they view antique furniture refinishing, that's the way to go. Slow, careful, thoughtful. You can certainly get away with a few scratches and dents when refinishing a floor, but if you pretend it's the top of an antique table, your mistakes will be few, far between, and unnoticeable unless someone gets on their hands and knees and squints.

This looks like a good job so far. Nice work!

Morefishplease, it's been quite awhile since the original progression of this thread, so if you're still paying attention, will you post some pics of the totally finished product? Pretty close match so far between the floor/stairs and the moulding, which is good.