Hi all, first post.

Background:

60 tons of 50+ year old full 1" maple flooring recovered from a local gymnasium, stored.

It is from a Grand Rapids, MI mill, most is #2 birdseye in lengths from 2' to 10'. It is really pretty wood in very good condition.

We have a 7.5 HP Woodmaster power planer to remove the old varnish (lots) and resurface select boards to use in our new home. The planer leaves a really fine surface after a single pass.

My question is: After it is nailed in, what sanding method/grit and sealer/finish is recommended?

We would like to give it a bit of reddish tint, and a satin finish.

Many thanks,

Dennis

successfully staining maple will require a proper sanding equipment and technique. My sanding method would be to hire a pro. LOL. Anyway if you have the skill set and the time I would consider a natural finish. For many years the nwfa discouraged it all together. There are people that can pull off a stained maple floor but ive never seen a dyi capable without major flaws.

Point taken.

A beautiful natural finish is much better than a botched stain job.

Is there a tinted water poly topcoat that is reliable?

DG

Not really. The way professionals tint difficult floors like pine and maple is typically to sand, seal the floor with a mixture of de waxed shellac and denatured alcohol 50/50 which partially seals the grain. that day or the next day , you can apply a tinted coat of full strength shellac to the floor and it should absorb fairly evenly.

After that , you begin your top coats of whichever product you want to use . But make sure you are confident in your technique because this is all easier said than done

Another product that is easier to work with but expensive is waterlox which is a tung oil and linseed oil based product that has phenolic resins in it to help it harden and protect. A small amount of oil based stain can be added to it and with multiple coats, can achieve a nice color .However, waterlox is very expensive at over $90.00 per gallon and has a strong odor that lingers for a long time. Sometimes a few weeks depending on environmental conditions.