Best way to stain old floorboards

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Hello!

We have uncovered the original Victorian floorboards in our house and we'd like to keep them exposed.

What's the best stain/dye to use after sanding? We're looking for something which looks quite natural but is darker than the light colour of the wood as it is.

Thank you
 
Really depends on the effect you're after both in terms of colour and sheen.

Colour first. There are a myriad number of different tints and pigmented hardwax oils around. Wood dye can be used first but you do need to be careful to avoid the overlap marks etc. Easiest these days are pigmented HWOs. You just roll or brush on, then cloth off the excess. Some manufacturers recommend finishing with a coat of their clear HWO, and for others it is a requirement. Ciranova and Blanchon for example both have a wide range of colours where you can get away with applying a couple of coats of their pigmented ones. Have a look at their colours as they have quite a wide range. Ciranova is marginally more stain resistant than Blanchon, though a little trickier to work with. Blanchon is quite thin, a bit cheaper too, but beware that stain and general wear resistance is much poorer with their products. If your room is a bedroom or other light-traffic area, you'd probably get away with Blanchon.

The more durable hardwax oils are by companies like Osmo and Treatex. Both German and both offer outstanding stain and scuff resistance. Osmo trickier to work with as is more viscose. Treatex certainly the most durable and also easiest to apply, but their range of colours is smaller. Additional benefit is the Treatex contains no white spirit (white spirit is effectively the vehicle that carries the product to the surface before evaporating - manufacturer's use it because it is cheap!) Big drawback of white spirit though is that it 'warms' the wood colour. If you've ever seen pine that has old fashioned varnish on it from the 70s or 80s, you'll know what that orange glow is and that is the 'warming' effect. So since Treatex have moved on from white spirit, that effect is much reduced (you can't eliminate it entirely as the UV in daylight also adds to that warming effect, albeit over a matter of years). Treatex's oils will also absorb deeper into the wood so they don't leave that sort of plasticky looking film that Osmo (and Blanchon) are prone to.

Have a look at the colours from Osmo and Treatex. For Osmo there is some variance in application methods depending on which of their products you go for. With Treatex, you only choose one colour (they call it a Colour Tone) that you apply first, and then the clear that they offer in matt, satin or gloss. You'd have to apply two coats of clear over the colour which you only brush or roller on and then leave it. This as opposed to Osmo where you need to 'buff' or cloth it while still wet (ie. worked with a buffing pad or buffing machine that you can hire from a tool centre)
Additional point for Treatex - I find their matt is so flat that when dry you can't really tell if it has a coat, so I prefer their satin with a very light sheen to it, but that's a point of personal preference!

Both Osmo and Treatex cost a couple of quid more per litre than the likes of Blanchon, but once you've applied them, you'll see why!


Whichever brand you go for, your result is only as good as your sanding. Depending on how much old residue and indents you need to shift from the existing surface determines what grit number you start at. Most of the time you'll need to start with a 40 grit and work up through the grits to 60, then 80, then 100 or 120 (the higher the number the finer the grit) Do not go past 120 though as doing so closes the grain and can prevent the hardwax oil penetrating the wood. Try to finish as evenly as you can since one area where sanding grit differed to the next can result in a patchy look. This because the pigment tends to concentrate in rougher surfaces where more mechanical key is available.

Hope all this helps
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a comprehensive reply! That is very useful info indeed - much appreciated.
 
Slightly off topic - did the same job with my floorboards about 10 years ago, they look really nice but do make the room cold and draughty (suspended timber floor, I expect yours is the same). If you've got gaps between the skirting and the floor, stuff them with loft insulation or similar, if you can get under the floor and insulate it it'll make the room much more comfortable. I bit the bullet and put carpet down- cool room is now warm room :)
 
Piggy-backing into this incredibly helpful thread in the hope of getting some related advice.

We're in an Edwardian flat, so similar age. We have had one floorboard replaced due to it splitting when heating was installed. This means we have one untreated floorboard surrounded by other floorboards that appear to have been varnished(?). We won't be able to treat only the new floorboard and match to the existing boards as we have no idea how they were treated. (They are shiny as if they have been varnished, rather than matt like the floorboards in another room - does varnish make sense?).

Our general plan is to sand the other floorboards and then retreat the whole hallway. This is a bit of a nightmare as the shape of the room (and our lack of transport!) rule out hiring an industrial sander so we're going to have to do this with the handheld skirting board sander. It's only around 2.5 square metres, so hopefully not too bad, and we do have a cupboard where we can practice in advance!

Our worries are:
  • Can anyone give feedback on their experiences of sanding with a handheld sander? We've seen videos of people using this in the edges of rooms, so it does look possible, but a lot of work. (Thanks for the advice above on different grits)
  • Does the new floorboard need treated/sealed before we use the hardwood oil recommended in this thread?
  • This hallway leads to our only toilet, so we can't do without it! We'll have to treat the hall in strips (breaking at the edge of a floorboard) - has anyone done this successfully?
  • What about drying times - we're seeing everything from 2 hours to 24 hours being quoted?

Sorry about all the questions, but best to be prepared rather than having a catastrophe halfway through.

Thanks,
Eleanor
 
Hand sander- it'll look very average. Did a quarter of my floor with a small belt sander- took ages (5 or 6 hours). Got one of the rental machines in, got the rest of the ground floor done in about half a day & the boards came up lovely.

Whatever you use you need to make sure any carpet tacks are gone and you need to drift the nails holding the floorboards down below the surface (otherwise they tend to rip the sanding belt up very quickly).

Don't know about the hardwood oil but best bet will be get on their website & have a look.

Re your solo floorboard- can you remove it easily enough (was it screwed down or nailed down)? If you can lift it then you can stain it to match the existing easily enough (use the back as a test area) then varnish with something glossy.

Doing the staining/sealing in stages- that'll be a pain. Yes I'm sure it is doable, you would probably want to mask off at your boundary and think about how you're going to prevent dust getting onto the finished bit of the floor while you're sidling past to the loo (or buy a caravan toilet and live without your fixed loo for a day

Drying time- I can't actually remember what seal I used, it was solvent based and think it was purple-ish when it went down but dried clear. Minimum 24 hours for that one, I played safe and went on holiday for a week
 
If you can get spirit based dye and mix with oil before application you get even finish with no shading.Colour will be diluted so test first.
 
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