Making your floors shine is easier than you might think
There’s a certain knack to learning how to stain hardwood floors. But with some elbow grease and attention to detail, you can stain your floors to fit your style. Staining—and applying the accompanying varnish topcoat—requires laboratory cleanliness during the project that can make or break the finished look. Keep reading for easy-to-follow steps and tips to create beautifully stained wood floors that will set the tone for your space.
Staining hardwood floors requires a long list of tools, which can increase the cost of refinishing hardwood floors if you don’t have them all. Gather your tools and supplies and make sure they’re all in good working condition to prevent unplanned visits to the store. Don’t forget the safety equipment like a dust mask, rubber gloves, and respirator. You don’t want to be tempted to skip these items because you’ve run out of them or you can’t find them.
You can further prep the room by removing all of the furniture and rugs. Use painter’s tape and plastic sheeting to cover vents. You should also apply painter’s tape to baseboards to protect them from the stain.
There are many types of stain products available, including eco-friendly options that aren’t made from the more commonly available solvent-based stains. If you’re unsure about how to choose a wood stain or how it will perform, do a test sample on a piece of scrap hardwood to see if you like the look before committing to staining your entire floors with the product.
Keep in mind that dark stains may require two coats instead of one. When you wipe the stain off, it’s lighter than the look you may be going for. If the stain is too dark, you can water it down. If it’s not dark enough, plan to apply a second (or third) coat, which may require buying extra stain.
Sanding removes varnish, stains, and scratches on the floor. Before you sand, scrub the floor with a wax remover to prevent buildup and extend the life of your sandpaper. Let the wax remover dry before sanding.
Use a belt sander to remove the top layer of the floor (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch deep). Start with 50- to 80-grit sandpaper for the first sanding. On the second pass over the floor, choose a grit between 80 to 120. On the final pass over the floor, use a grit between 120 and 150 to smooth out the wood’s surface.
Run the machine with the wood grain to prevent creating a fuzzy surface that you’ll have to re-sand. Use an edge sander to get the wood near the baseboards and in the entryways.
If you’re working with old floors, your goal is to remove any products from the wood’s surface. If you’re working with a new hardwood floor, your goal is to create a uniform surface before you apply the stain.
After you’ve created vast amounts of dust and debris during the sanding process, remove every bit of it from the room before you apply stain. This includes wiping down the walls, ceilings, and top edges of trim work that often collect dust particles while you sand.
Even the smallest speck of dust will mar the finish of a completed staining project, so you’ll also want to take tack cloths to the entire floor after you’ve vacuumed and dusted to create an ultra-clean surface. You can also use a damp (not wet) cloth as an extra precaution to wipe down the floor and pick up every speck of dust. If you do, let the floor dry completely before applying the stain.
Test the stain in a small, inconspicuous corner if you haven’t already. Starting in a corner, pour, brush, or roll-on liquid stain following the grain of the hardwood floors. Work from corner to corner so that you keep a wet edge. Plan to do the whole room at once to prevent lapping.
If you’re applying stain to a raw wood floor, let it soak for a minute or two, then wipe the entire floor down with the rags to remove any excess stain that hasn't been absorbed. The goal is to create a visually appealing base coat, so always take a step back after each section to ensure there aren’t flaws.
Your soaked rags should be treated as a fire hazard once you’ve used them for staining. The volatile compounds in traditional stains can spontaneously combust, so it’s important to keep close track of where you discard them. Soak the used rags in water, seal them up in a plastic garbage bag, and dispose of them in an outside container.
Let the stain completely dry. Humidity levels and the room temperature can affect drying times. However, 24 hours is usually sufficient in average conditions, though follow the directions on the stain’s packaging.
Do not walk on the floor while it’s drying. You want to keep the floors clean and unmarred while the floor dries.
The location of the floor influences whether you’ll want to use a varnish or finish. Varnish creates a highly water-resistant surface, making it more common in outdoor spaces or rooms that will get a lot of traffic from the outdoors. However, it’s prone to cracking if not applied correctly. Finishes offer a more refined look thanks to their transparency, and they come in appearances that range from glossy to flat for a wider variety of looks.
Once the stain has cured, remove your shoes to prevent scuffing. Grab a natural bristle paintbrush and apply the first coat in a thin, even layer. Go with the grain, but do not drag your brush back and forth. Let the first layer completely dry.
Use sandpaper, 400- or 600-grit works fine, to lightly sand the floor. Then, apply another thin coat of varnish. Repeat these steps until you have a third or fourth coat on the entire room and are happy with the result.
A polyurethane finish can give the floor a brilliant shine, with both gloss and semi-gloss options available. Using a natural bristle brush, water-based applicator, or lamb’s wool roller, start in the corner furthest from the door. Follow the grain of the wood as you apply the finish and work your way toward the door. Always maintain a wet edge to prevent lap marks.
Let the finish dry for several hours before lightly sanding it with a 220-grit sandpaper. The sanding removes any imperfections or surface bubbles. Clean the floor, then apply a second coat.
Let the finish cure for two to three days before walking on or moving furniture on the floor.
The average cost of refinishing hardwood floors is $1,885, but the range can be anywhere from $600 to $4,500. Size is the largest factor, and staining hardwood costs $1 to $3 per square foot. The floor’s condition and the type of hardwood, such as maple, bamboo, or cherry, also impact the cost. You’ll also have varying labor costs, including whether or not you have to move furniture or rip up carpet on top of the flooring.
Staining wood floors is a job an experienced DIYer can do. Where it gets tricky is when you have previously stained floors that need sanding first. In that case—or if you’re a total newbie at working with heavy power tools like a belt sander or edger—you’ll want to call in a local hardwood refinishing professional.
You can stain over existing hardwood floors without sanding if you want to refresh or darken a stain. This can often reduce maintenance when you’re looking at how often to refinish your wood floors. Test the new stain in a small inconspicuous area to get an accurate idea of the end result. You will need to clean and buff the floors before applying the new stain. Then, apply a polyurethane finish or varnish to the floor to protect the new stain.
The number of coats of stain you need depends on the final look you’re going for. Dark stains often require at least two coats if not more, while lighter stains may only need one coat. It all depends on the look you want and how the wood responds to the stain. This is yet another reason to test a small area of the floor before applying the stain to the entire room.
Evenly wetting a wood floor before applying a stain is called waterpopping. It’s done to raise the grain and open the wood’s pores to absorb more stain. When done properly, it can make the stain look darker and deeper. However, it’s important to evenly wet the floor and let it dry before applying the stain.
Unlike installing new carpet where you can walk on the floors instantly, you have to wait a minimum of 24 hours before walking on stained hardwood. You can get away with wearing socks on the floor (no bare feet) after 24 to 48 hours have passed. However, wait anywhere from four to seven days before moving floor coverings and furniture back onto the floor. The longer you can wait to walk on or use the floor, the better your results will be.
