Hi everybody,

I purchased some DuraSeal Quick Seal 2H Penetrating Finish (108 Royal Mahogany) and rented a square sander and a hand orbital sander to sand my floors that need to be refinished. I also have a Bona lacquer that i will use, and both the stain and lacquer are water based.

I've been told at the store that the DuraSeal Quick Seal 2H Penetrating Finish that i purchased doesn't need a pre-sealer on the hardwood floors before applying it. So i tested an area underneath the fridge, and i applied the stain, and quickly wiped off the excess and once it dried, i noticed that some areas were really dark/blotchy compared to the other area.

I am wondering what i did wrong? Should i have sanded it more? Or do i need to pre-seal the sanded hardwood floor before applying the stain?

Also i've been told to use a lambswool applicator to apply the stain and lacquer and than wipe off the excess using lint-free cloth.

Can anyone advice me on what i am doing wrong, and what i need to do to correctly apply the stain without having blotchy spots? The hardwood is maple.

Also if it helps and if it might be the culprit, when i unhooked the water line to the fridge, it did drip a bit on the floor, could it be that the dark spots/blotchy spots were the wet spots on the floor? Or should i always apply a pre-sealer/wood conditioner to the hardwood floor before applying stain? If so, what brand do you guys recommend?

Thank you so much for the help.

staining maple royal mahogany is a task most pros would shudder to even think about. its about as difficult as it gets with the specie color combo you have. I would highly recommend a much lighter color or hire a pro. even if i hired a pro i would want them to make up some stain samples to approve before any work is even started. Maple hates stain and red mahogany hates maple even worse. Not to discourage you but l'm trying to save you a lot of time money and frustrations. ive seen more "pros" get burnt on this same scenario more than a dozen times, and these are guys who have done hundreds of floors and have a good grasp of what they are doing.