Is it possible to darken hardwood floors without going through the trouble of sanding them? I have a golden oak colour of hardwood and I would like to "deepen" the colour but I since I am not handy, I do not want to sand them.
2007-10-21 17:51:10 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
The hardwood is wood (not laminate). Why do you (DIY Doc) not like using the varnish? i.e., what is the downside?
2007-10-22 02:00:42 · update #1
With all due respect to all; YES you can; though I can't imagine WHY.
Minwax manufactures a varnishing stain in various colors/shades. I personally don't like it but it can be modestly effective. There are others who Mfg. the same I'm sure.
The problem is obviously as one states; whatever the substance of the current clear coat. Nothing will penetrate that now. BTW...soooooo many say Hardwood when speaking of laminates. Is your floor truly WOOD?
Steven Wolf
2007-10-21 23:02:13 · answer #1 · answered by DIY Doc 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had a similar problem when I reconfigured the kitchen in my last house, which had an old oak floor. I relocated a whole wall of cabinets so I had a 2' by 6' section I had to fill in. I bought a bundle of the 3/4" thick unfinished tongue and groove oak at Home Depot and began experimenting with a couple of the more funky pieces (there are usually a few in each bundle that are not very nice looking that you can use for scrap and trial runs.) I bought a bunch of small cans of various shades of wood stain and tried various mixtures on the scraps until I got a mix that matched the existing floor pretty well. Then I installed the new flooring in the gap, pre-drilling, toe-nailing and recessing the nails through the tongue on each piece (you can get instructions on line or at the building center for doing this). You do need to sand the new raw wood floor so I rented an edger and carefully sanded it plus about an 18" overlap of the old floor. Then I cleaned it very well, vacuuming several times with a shop vac with a pleated paper filter and running over it with a tack rag to remove all the dust. Then I wiped the stain mix on all the sanded area. Start with one thinned out light coat first, let it dry and then do another, gradually building up the color until it matches the old floor. What kind of floor your house has will depend on your area. In the upper midwest and west coast it will likely be oak. In the south and Mid Atlantic it may be long leaf yellow pine if it has a lot of knots and reddish color. In New England and upstate NY it could even be maple. But it really does not much matter as long as you can kind of match the grain and the stain color. That's where the cheap oak tongue and groove is handy -- you will find a variety of grains in the bundles and can match most wood textures. My current house has 80 year old yellow pine and I have patched in some areas that were worn with the oak strips, choosing some that had strong grain and knot pattern and staining it a reddish gold to match.
2016-03-13 04:20:08 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are ways to darken them without complete resanding but they aren't always successful. There are over the counter products like Minwax Polyshades but they are hard to apply evenly, especially over a large area. I have a little talent and had a hard time getting an even coat on stair treads. Stains are meant to be applied to freshly sanded wood. Any other product is going to be like a glaze. Besides being hard to apply evenly, adhesion would be a major issue.
I'd generally recommend against trying anything UNLESS it's a last ditch effort and you're prepared to sand the floor if it doesn't work out right. If anything goes wrong with a glazing process the floor will look awful and require sanding.
The only exception to this would be if the floor has a wax finish. If it is waxed, there are two methods that can be used. They're too long to outline here. If this is the case you can e-mail me or alter the question and I'll be happy to respond.
2007-10-22 05:54:20 · answer #3 · answered by Rise Above 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nearly impossible since, when the floor was installed it was sealed with a clear coat. That clear coat insured that the color would remain through wear and tear. If you try to re-stain your gonna have a huge mess on your hands. Unfortunately there is only one way to re-color your floor. Yep you guessed it You are going to have to sand it. This is not a DIY kind of project if you are not "handy" as you say. The charge for such a project is about $2.50 per square foot. Not bad really since you will get the color you want and a warranty, providing someone reputable does the job. Have Fun
2007-10-21 19:31:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that you would be able to rent a sanding machine that you hold on to like an upright vacuum cleaner. You just have to move it around the floor evenly.
That shouldn't be so hard even for someone not handy. You should give it a try.
Your dark stain would show up evenly with sanded floors.
2007-10-21 21:04:45 · answer #5 · answered by CARMIE 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sure but if you stain it again the grain may raise causing it to be uneven after you re-stain it. That is one of the reasons to sand it before.
2007-10-21 17:54:32 · answer #6 · answered by tugar357 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋