Should You Stain Your Floor Before Putting Poly

As with all wood finishes good results depend on smooth clean wood surfaces but this goes double with clear finishes such as polyurethane.

Should you stain your floor before putting poly.

If you attempt to add stain on top of floor without sanding it expect it to peel off. Large and or deep scratches can be visible under the polyurethane. Time limit to dry stain before polyurethane. Drying times are influenced not only by the brand of stain but also by the.

Apply the stain to the wood liberally with a sponge or soft cloth. Knowing how to stain and seal a hardwood floor properly pays off in having a beautiful finish and enduring protection. For open grain woods like oak ash or walnut you can apply a wood grain filler before the polyurethane to create an ultra smooth finished surface. Applying a deck stain and sealer with high quality is absolute of no use if you don t let it adequately dry.

Or possibly the stain you didn t mention if you stained the floor didn t dry before you applied the poly. If the stain begins to dry before you wipe it off you re tackling too much area. Work in manageable areas. It may be impossible to dry out this top coat as by now it has lost it s drying capabilities and is really just a pool of semi dried oil just sitting.

Before applying stain to your wood floor you need to know what species it is. When etching the surface you can do this by hand or you can also use a palm sander. You must be starting with fresh or raw hardwood floors. The stain will probably get mixed up with the poly.

When you stain and seal a hardwood floor the stain must be completely dry before adding the final coats of polyurethane. This is more likely to happen using water based stain. As a result your poly will take the longest time to settle sometimes even worse. Immediately wipe it off with a dry cloth.

I ll be sending you the url of my poly article so you can see how it s done. Staining and sealing hardwood floors the right way whether you re refinishing refurbishing or stripping the wood floor results in years of enjoyment. This floor was sanded correctly but was aggressively mopped with water against the grain probably in an attempt to remove all the dust. The floors need to be sanded 3 times with finer and finer grits so that all polyurethane and all stain is removed.

Sand your wood with at least 220 grit sandpaper. Overlapping stain on previously stained areas causes uneven colors. Floors made of maple birch and coniferous woods especially pine or fir are all very difficult to stain evenly. This is a vivid illustration of how important it is that the texture of your wood floor be absolutely uniform and consistent before you apply your stain.