Best to stain gray on a brand new installed floor.
Classic gray stain on red oak floors.
Well i mean test every dark stain if you want dark floors and every light stain if you want light floors.
Dan s floor store was contracted to refinish the 1 1 2 wide solid old red oak plank floors in this circa 1950 home in the ortega neighborhood of jacksonville florida.
I m dying to go lighter but i keep reading with red oak i m out of luck.
So this is just two coats of minwax classic grey on red oak hardwood floor.
For reference we decided not to add alcohol to minwax classic grey.
Tips for choosing red oak floor stains.
Gray stained floors tend to turn out best on white oak flooring.
For diy on coffee table click here.
As part of the refinishing process our client described the look they wanted and we recommended adding a grey stain to the red oak planks during our refinishing process.
If you do a stain you don t need a sealer as the stain is the sealer.
Classic gray tends to be slightly blotchy so make sure to use pre conditioner with this stain color.
Dark walnut 2716.
Old preexisting floors are not the best canvas to sand and refinish in a gray stain.
Older floors typically have spacing nail and pin holes discoloration etc.
We are refinishing existing 2 1 4 red oak floors that are currently a darker stain and completely replacing the floors in some rooms so we have to stick with red oak.
Which also means the wood grains still show through the stain color.
Otherwise you ll have pink mixed in.
Be careful with the wood species.
We are considering a mix of weathered oak and mixed with gray stain which i found scouring the net.
Stain can turn out blotchy on maple floors as these are close pored species this blotchiness occurs with all stain colors.
The dark gray will help hide and drown out the red tones.
Red oak has underlying red tones and often a darker gray is needed to achieve the desired look.
This classic gray stain creates the perfect weathered look without over saturating with too much gray.
So before i get into the oak stain colors and results i thought it would be helpful to provide a few tips on choosing a hardwood floor stain.