Should You Stain White Pine Floors

Woodworking tips for staining pine.

Should you stain white pine floors.

You ll obscure this natural aging patina with stain but if you want to stain keep it light. Staining pine make this inexpensive wood look like a million bucks. If you like the appearance of the stained sample patch you can proceed with staining the entire floor. The floor will not get darker if you flood it with an excess of stain or apply a second coat.

Refinishing pine floors is a big project. It is not complicated or difficult although generally hard on the knees and time consuming and it is a job that most people can do themselves. If you are going to use pine boards as flooring you will want to get them from your local lumber yard. With pine this is not the case.

Woods like cherry pine and birch can become blotchy and unattractive when stained unless you use a sealer before staining. Using excess amounts or applying multiple coats of stain can cause the stain to bleed back where it wicks back up to the surface of the board as solvent begins to evaporate. How often you ll need to do this depends on how much use the floor gets. To stay looking their best pine floors should be regularly dusted or vacuumed to remove debris that could cause excessive scratching and wear.

How to stain pine floor boards. Heart pine floors darken slightly with exposure to light and will age gracefully taking on a unique mellow color. For the best results test the possible finishes on scrap pieces before you start. Pine flooring was once very common in older homes.

Or if you realize that you prefer the natural color of unstained pine opt for a clear varnish instead. They have the best 2 pine boards ever that are really better than the big box stores best wood. The amount of stain that a floor can absorb is finite. Try a test piece first.

Let the stain dry for 24 hours and then apply the oil finish. Unfortunately when woodworkers try to duplicate that color on new pine by using stain the results are usually disappointing. Antique pine often has a dark mellow color. Some types of wood like pine cherry birch and maple are notoriously difficult to stain.

If you don t like the appearance of the stained wood select a different colored stain. However there are a few key things to keep in mind about pine floors when you re trying to refinish them. It is durable easily cut and develops a lovely honey colored ambiance over time. Yet pine is softer than maple.