If you decided some time ago to install a hardwood floor, and now it looks faded and dehydrated, you can restore it. However, to perform this work, it is necessary to adopt specific techniques to make the surface smooth, silky, and above all elegant. In reference to this, in the following steps of this guide, there are useful tips on how to stain a hardwood floor.
Guide for a limed hardwood floor
First, you need to gather a minimum of materials to start: Lacquer, brush, sandpaper of different grades: 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 120, scrub brush, talc, varnish, wood wax.
The process of staining wood white, often called liming, is a simple way to lighten your hardwood floors. Liming through staining creates a subtle white finish that allows the beauty of the natural wood grain to show through, instead of the opaque white finish obtained by simple painting.
For this, prepare the wood floor you will be working on by removing the existing finish using an electric sander. But first, remove all furniture from the room, including rugs. Use a vacuum cleaner to clean up dust, dirt, and pet hair.
Coloring process
Start by sanding the wood floor with coarse sandpaper. If you’re using a floor sander, you’ll need to fit it with sandpaper, making sure it’s extremely tight around the drum. In fact, the rental store staff should talk to you about this to avoid mistakes.
Once all the flooring to be stained has been sanded, vacuum or clean the dust produced by the abrasion with a brush, paying particular attention to corners and joints with surrounding walls.
Carefully examine the floor and locate cracks and bumps. Fill them with wood putty and wear latex gloves while smoothing the putty with your fingers.
Sweep the dust from the floor and vacuum to remove any traces of dust. Use a damp mop to finish cleaning the floor surface before continuing.
However, it is advisable to ventilate your work area well. Keep windows open, fans running, and keep pets and children away from the area.
Mix the wood stain well with a stick or an old spoon. You can use a foam brush or a lambswool applicator or a bee mop if you want to cover a larger area at once, to apply a light coat of white stain to the wood with more or less pigment depending on the level of white you want to achieve. Once the work is done, wipe off excess stain as you go and let it sit for a few minutes. Brush in the same direction as the wood grain. If you’re coloring a large wood surface, do a small section at a time.
Using a clean cloth, wet with stain, spread and apply the stain so that it penetrates the wood. Be sure to work it well into the knots to accentuate them. Going with the grain of the wood, wipe off any excess stain.
Let the stain dry for 24 to 48 hours. If you want a more opaque white finish, repeat the previous steps until you achieve the desired look. Allow the wood floor to dry thoroughly before use.
Once your hardwood floor is stained, you need to protect it with layers of varnish or translucent oil coats to provide better protection.
Hardwood floor protection
You can certainly find in the L’Artisan du Plancher stores a wide variety of stains for hardwood floors or white stain. You can even find new whitening sealers that give a Scandinavian effect to hardwood floors. To do this, you can choose between “classic” stains, extremely resistant to stains, moisture, and wear, much less expensive, but also toxic (so, if you decide to use them, you must ventilate the rooms well). Alternatively, you can use water-based stains, which are more expensive, but just as effective, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly.
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