Every single piece of wood took on a gray hue including the red oak.
Classic gray stain on red oak floors.
Otherwise you ll have pink mixed in.
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.
I m dying to go lighter but i keep reading with red oak i m out of luck.
Red oak has underlying red tones and often a darker gray is needed to achieve the desired look.
Well i mean test every dark stain if you want dark floors and every light stain if you want light floors.
Classic gray tends to be slightly blotchy so make sure to use pre conditioner with this stain color.
Which also means the wood grains still show through the stain color.
Old preexisting floors are not the best canvas to sand and refinish in a gray stain.
For reference we decided not to add alcohol to minwax classic grey.
So this is just two coats of minwax classic grey on red oak hardwood floor.
Stain can turn out blotchy on maple floors as these are close pored species this blotchiness occurs with all stain colors.
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.
Tips for choosing red oak floor stains.
Older floors typically have spacing nail and pin holes discoloration etc.
The dark gray will help hide and drown out the red tones.
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.
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.
Be careful with the wood species.
If you do a stain you don t need a sealer as the stain is the sealer.
This classic gray stain creates the perfect weathered look without over saturating with too much gray.
Ginger if you have red oak and want to do some form of gray you will either need to bleach the floors first or choose a darker gray.
Best to stain gray on a brand new installed floor.
Dark walnut 2716.
We are considering a mix of weathered oak and mixed with gray stain which i found scouring the net.