Hello,

I was wondering what the pros thought of my plan:

Currently have 1000sqtf oak with poly on it that I plan sanding to bare wood and then staining and finishing. My plan was to use the following finishing steps (I didn't include sanding, screening, filling):
1) Stain (still not sure which color and/or brand; I'd like a Walnut tone)
2) Zinnser dewaxed shellac seal coat
3) Bona mega gloss
4) Bona mega gloss
5) Bona mega satin.

Does anyone see any problems with this? Also, I have been trying out a combination of mohawk ultra penetrating stain (dye) and varathane wood stain. Is there a product that will allow me to avoid having to use a dye and stain that gives even and deep color?

Thanks.

If you are staining a seal coat is not necessary. I would suggest using the same sheen for all of the coatings. Prior to staining wipe the floor down with water. This opens the pores of the wood and raises the grain. The stain will take much better by doing this.

Great. Thanks for the response and tips.

Your advice was spot on -- I watered popped some sample boards and then stain came out really nice. I have one more question though --

Is there any way to finish two rooms seperately? -- I think I read somewhere that it is easier to blend the mega parallell to the board as opposed to across it. In my test samples however, I got a ridge. I tried sanding it with 400 grit but that just killed the sheen on the mega. Is there a way to get around having a ridge by somehow feather the coats, maybe? Thanks.

The darker the stain, the more coats you will need to get a uniform appearance. In addition, you'll need to sand to a finer finish - at least 100 grit - for best results. On a light finish, 80 grit is satisfactory. Since you're looking at a multi-coat process, screening between all but the final coats will yield a smoother finish. Do you really want to expend the time to lightly sand the floor that many times?

Can you seal over top a stain? Seems to me it could mess it up?